FL Jan. 6 Rioter Pardoned By Trump Gets Life For Molesting Children

HERNANDO COUNTY, FL — A Florida handyman convicted of storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and later pardoned by President Donald Trump, will spend life in prison for molesting two children, State Attorney Bill Gladson’s office said in a news release.

Andrew Paul Johnson, 45, of Seffner was found guilty in February of lewd or lascivious molestation of a victim less than 12 years of age, lewd or lascivious molestation of a victim 12 years of age or older but less than 16 years of age, two counts of lewd or lascivious exhibition, and transmission of material harmful to a minor by electronic device.

In July, Hernando County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a Brooksville home, where the two victims said “they were both inappropriately touched by Johnson,” the state attorney’s office said.

They gave deputies a cell phone of the first victim, who told investigators that Johnson had given them the device to talk to them.

Authorities also saw numerous “sexually explicit” messages between one of the victims and Johnson using the Discord messaging app, Gladson’s office said. In the messages, Johnson tried to convince the victim to download a different app for a more private conversation and encouraged the child to delete their conversations.

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Law enforcement officers and the You Thrive Child Advocacy Center’s child protective team interviewed both victims.

The first victim recounted specific details of events, as well as various locations where these acts occurred, the state attorney said. The victim also shared that some incidents happened while the second victim was present.

Johnson would buy the victim gifts and food to try to keep them from reporting him, the victim told investigators. He told the child never to tell anyone because he would get in trouble.

During the interviews with the second victim, the victim shared several instances of inappropriate touching by Johnson and corroborated statements made by the first victim.

Johnson pleaded guilty in 2024 to nonviolent charges for entering the U.S. Capitol through a broken window during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack, trying to prevent the certification of President Joe Biden’s term in the White House, NPR reported. He also cursed at police officers trying to clear the building.

Trump granted an Inauguration Day pardon to everyone charged in connection with the Capitol riot — more than 1,500 people — on Jan. 20, 2025, as his first major act of his second term in office.

Johnson told one of his child victims in the sexual abuse case that he expected to receive $10 million in restitution from Trump for his Jan. 6 arrest, reports said. Since granting them clemency, the president discussed possibly giving taxpayer-funded payouts to the Jan. 6 rioters.

Johnson told the child that after receiving this windfall, he would put the victim in his will so the child could have any of the leftover money, NBC News reported.

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