Washington– A skilled worker in Florida was sentenced Thursday to life in prison for molesting two children Storming the Capitol building On January 6, 2021, but was pardoned by President Donald Trump.
Andrew Paul Johnson, 45, is among several defendants charged on Jan. 6 who have been charged New crimes Since Trump A sweeping act of compassion To the Capitol rioters. On his first day back in the White House last year, Trump pardoned, commuted prison sentences or ordered the cases dropped for all of the more than 1,500 people charged in the attack.
Johnson was convicted last month of two counts of indecent or lewd molestation of a child and one count of transmitting electronic material harmful to a minor, according to prosecutors in Hernando County, Florida. District Circuit Judge Judge Stephen Toner sentenced Johnson to life in prison.
Sheriff’s deputies began investigating child molestation allegations against Johnson in July 2025. One of his victims told investigators that the abuse began around April 2024, several months before Johnson was sentenced for the Capitol riot.
Johnson told one of his victims that he expected to receive restitution for being a defendant pardoned on Jan. 6, and would place the child in his will to inherit any remaining money, according to a sheriff’s office report.
“This tactic is believed to be used to prevent (the child) from revealing what Andrew did,” the report said.
Investigators found sexually explicit messages that Johnson exchanged with one of his victims on the messaging app Discord, according to the office of Fifth Judicial Circuit Attorney Bill Gladson.
“In the messages, Johnson attempted to get the victim to download another app to have a more private conversation and encouraged the victim to delete his messages afterward,” Gladson’s office said in a news release.
In August 2024, Chief US District Judge James Bosberg in Washington sentenced Johnson to a year in prison after he pleaded guilty to four misdemeanor charges stemming from the riot. Johnson had asked to withdraw his guilty plea, claiming he had been pressured to do so, but the judge I refused his request Before the ruling.
Johnson, of Seffner, Florida, carried a bullhorn as he walked to the Capitol after attending Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House. He entered the building through an office window smashed by other rioters, according to federal prosecutors. Prosecutors said Johnson cursed and shouted at police officers after they used tear gas to disperse a crowd of Trump supporters.