FBI arrests Bob's Burgers actor for January 6 riot actions

(AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

Jay Johnston, a voice actor for the animated television show Bob’s Burgers, was arrested and charged Wednesday for his participation in the January 6, 2021 riot on Capitol Hill. He was benched by that show in December 2021 when his participation in the actions of that day became known. He was the voice of Jimmy Pesto on the show.

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Johnston is a veteran actor with a list of credits that include Mr. Show with Bob and David, Better Call Saul and The Sarah Silverman Program. The feds put out a photo that included Johnston during the riot and asked for help from the public in identifying him. He was identified and it went from there.

The documents read as follows:

On or about March 8, 2021, an attorney contacted the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center (“NTOC”) and stated that s/he represented JAY JAMES JOHNSTON, who was the individual pictured in publicly disseminated photographs 247-AFO.

The FBI has interviewed three current or former associates of JOHNSTON, all of whom identified JOHNSTON as the individual in the above photographs of 247-AFO. One of these associates provided the FBI with a text message in which JOHNSTON acknowledged being at the Capitol on January 6, stating “The news has presented it as an attack. It actually wasn’t. Thought it kind of turned into that. It was a mess. Got maced and tear gassed and I found it quite untastic.”

Records from United Airlines show that JOHNSTON had a round-trip flight reservation from Los Angeles, California to Washington, D.C. departing on January 4, 2021 and returning on January 7, 2021.

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More than 1,000 people who participated in the protest on Capitol Hill that turned into a riot have been arrested. That is a staggering number of arrests for one event. There are about 280 people in jail and about 490 people sentenced. What happened on Capitol Hill that day was horrific, in my opinion, and people must be held accountable. However, it would be good if others received the same treatment. What about all the people who protested in the streets and those demonstrations turned into chaos and destruction in cities across the country during the Summer of Love, for example? Double standards are not supposed to be a part of the American justice system.

It’s been 2 1/2 years and the FBI is still rounding up people for what happened that day. Johnston surrendered to the FBI at a field office Wednesday. On Tuesday, the DOJ issued a warrant or him. He appeared in U.S. District Court Wednesday afternoon. Johnston was freed on $25,000 bail and is scheduled for a remote hearing on June 13.

How long do you think this round-up of suspects will continue? I predict it will continue if Trump is the Republican nominee and then wins the election. If Trump is not successful and he’s knocked out from running for office again, it’s likely to come to an end. He could continue to run as many times as he wants, of course, if he’s defeated, but his age will prevent him doing it again. He’s only four years younger than Biden. With the record of corruption exposed within the FBI and intelligence community during the Trump years, it is easy to suspect the FBI and DOJ teaming up to prosecute Trump supporters while he is still on the political scene.

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The feds have photos of scenes in a tunnel that leads into the Capitol. They show Johnston, with others, battling police.

A federal court in Washington, D.C., unsealed the criminal case against Johnston after his arrest on Wednesday. He faces four federal charges, including civil disorder and entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds.

A statement of facts filed in court by an FBI agent alleged that Johnston was “among a crowd of rioters who confronted law enforcement officers at the West Plaza of the United States Capitol.” The affidavit said Johnston helped move police shields amid the mob, and also “turned and made a series of hand gestures to the crowd, including clapping his hands, banging his closed fists together and pointing to the crowd.”

The charging papers alleged that Johnston held a police shield over his head and “then participated with other rioters in a group assault on the officers defending the [Lower West Terrace] entrance.”

Johnston is 54 and lives in Los Angeles. On January 6, 2021, the DOJ accuses him of allegedly being near the front of the protesters who gathered on the West Plaza of the Capitol Building. It sounds as though he is considered a leader of the protesters. Allegedly, he participated in a group effort to push against the police in the tunnel.

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John Stossel 8:30 AM | October 12, 2024
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