Pardoned Capitol rioter tried to bribe child sex victim into silence with promise of Jan. 6 payout, officials say

Florida authorities say that a man who received a presidential pardon from Donald Trump for his involvement in the attack on the U.S. Capitol has now been taken into custody on charges related to child sexual abuse. According to investigators, he also allegedly attempted to use the promise of a large financial award tied to his Jan. 6 pardon as a way to keep the victim quiet.

The man, 44-year-old Andrew Paul Johnson, was apprehended in Tennessee in August and then sent back to Florida, where he faces charges including lewd and lascivious molestation, lewd and lascivious exhibition, and sending a minor harmful materials. His defense attorney did not respond to inquiries seeking comment.

News of the charges first surfaced in reporting by The Intercept.

Johnson was one of roughly 1,500 individuals whom Trump pardoned this year for offenses related to the January 6, 2021 breach of the Capitol.

Authorities in Hernando County began looking into Johnson’s conduct in July after being notified about two minors who had allegedly been subjected to inappropriate sexual behavior over a period of several months. According to an arrest affidavit, deputies interviewed the mother of one of the children after she discovered troubling messages on her son’s Discord account involving Johnson. When she asked her child whether Johnson had ever acted in a way that made him uncomfortable, the child disclosed a series of encounters.

The boy reported that Johnson had molested him three times between April and October 2024, beginning when the child was just 11 years old. According to the affidavit, the boy said that when he confronted Johnson about what had happened, Johnson apologized but urged him to remain silent because he feared the consequences. Investigators say Johnson later mailed the child an iPhone and instructed him to keep it hidden.

The affidavit further describes messages from Discord indicating that Johnson would secretly go to the child’s home, bringing him food and spending time with him. Investigators say Johnson also told the child that because he had been pardoned for his role in the Capitol riot and was supposedly going to receive a $10 million payment for being a “Jan 6’er,” he intended to include the boy in his will so the child could inherit whatever remained of that money. Authorities stated that they believe this alleged promise of future wealth was meant to dissuade the child from revealing the abuse.

Despite Trump having publicly floated the idea of compensating Jan. 6 participants, no such payout program exists, and no rioter has received money. The only recent settlement related to the riot involved the federal government agreeing to pay just under $5 million to the family of Ashli Babbitt, who was shot and killed by a Capitol Police officer during the attack while attempting to climb through a shattered door window.

Johnson himself had been arrested in 2022 for his involvement in the Capitol breach. Prosecutors said he entered the building through a broken window and faced four federal charges. Court filings from that earlier case describe Johnson—who allegedly used monikers such as “American Terrorist” and “Proud j6er”—as having participated in unruly and disruptive behavior for more than four hours. According to documents, after entering the building, he encouraged other rioters to push further inside and shouted remarks urging them to force open doors and continue their advance, insisting that they had not yet “accomplished anything.”

In addition to that, prosecutors said Johnson later amplified misinformation about the events of January 6 and even advocated for repeating the attack. He ultimately pleaded guilty in April 2024 and was later pardoned.

Johnson is scheduled to appear in court again on December 10 regarding the child molestation charges.

His arrest is not an isolated incident involving individuals pardoned for Jan. 6-related crimes. Another Trump-pardoned rioter who was recorded firing a gun into the air outside the Capitol was recently arrested on charges of kidnapping and sexual assault, and yet another who received a pardon was taken into custody after being accused of issuing death threats against House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York.

Source: NBC NEWS