# Florida Man charged with stealing Speaker's podium **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 10, 2021, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-man-charged-with-stealing-speakers-podium/930157 "2021-01-10T02:28:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-man-charged-with-stealing-speakers-podium/930157/101 "2021-01-15T12:39:29Z")
Question – if Trump pardons him, could D.C. still charge him, or doesn’t that work, since they aren’t a state? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-man-charged-with-stealing-speakers-podium/930157/102 "2021-01-15T12:45:53Z")
That is a beautiful thing. > [@](#): > > … Is it a problem for the defense that there’s a picture of [Adam] Johnson stealing the Speaker’s lectern? Well, yes, according to his lawyer, who maybe shouldn’t have spoken to the media about it. “You have a photograph of our client,” he told a reporter, “in a building, um, you know, unauthorized to be there, with, uh, you know, what appears to be a … lectern…. Yeah, we’ve got a photograph of our client who appears to be … inside the Capitol with the government property.” So, does that present a problem? “[Y]eah, that’s, that’s, that would be a problem. I’m not a magician.” > > Just a suggestion, because I don’t know this from personal experience, but “I’m not a magician” is probably not something most clients want to hear their defense lawyers say. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-man-charged-with-stealing-speakers-podium/930157/103 "2021-01-15T13:07:20Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Question – if Trump pardons him, could D.C. still charge him, or doesn’t that work, since they aren’t a state? Washington DC law enforcement is under federal jurisdiction. They don’t have their own District Attorney, there is a US attorney (appointed by the President, I believe) who makes charging decisions. I presume from this that a federal pardon would neutralize this avenue. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-man-charged-with-stealing-speakers-podium/930157/104 "2021-01-15T13:19:53Z")
If there is evidence, he can be still be charged by the DC US Attorney regardless of a self-pardon. A judge will probably stay an indictment until a higher court rules on just how ridiculous a legal concept a self-pardon is, but prosecutors don’t need to recognize a self-pardon until a court says they do. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-man-charged-with-stealing-speakers-podium/930157/105 "2021-01-15T14:52:16Z")
If you are really interested—— a long long time ago, there was a story that made the news. This was right at the beginning of the end, one of the first volleys in the “Poor Persecuted Trump was the Victim of Fraud” narrative. Two months ago, an eternity these days A postal worker, with Project Veritas (an odious right wing troll farm) put out a story that he had witnessed election fraud. A few days later, after Barr gave federal agencies guidance to investigate claims of fraud, he was interviewed by, IIRC, a couple of federal agents, postal service I think. The guy, unbeknownst to the agents, taped most of the interview, a little over two hours worth. He told the agents this afterwards and they did not confiscate the tape or threaten him or anything. During the interview he recanted his tale of election fraud. Then this moron went right back to Veritas, handed them the tape, recanted the recant, and proceeded to crowdfund a ton of money although, during the interview, the agents made it clear that was a bad idea. But, back to the point. The tape of the interview is available, 2 hours worth. I listened to the whole thing at the time and if you are interested in technique, it’s fascinating. I thought it was interesting how the agent dropped in QANON coded language at the beginning he didn’t overplay it, it was subtle, references to “the storm” in order to align himself with the postal worker. Please note that I hate posting content from Veritas but I can’t find this elsewhere. And the Veritas claim that the interview was coercive is false, it’s textbook, [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/QkNkQ2nDQfc/hqdefault.jpg "RAW AUDIO: USPS Whistleblower Richard Hopkins FULL COERCIVE INTERROGATION By Federal Agents") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkNkQ2nDQfc) ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-man-charged-with-stealing-speakers-podium/930157/106 "2021-01-15T15:04:18Z")
That’s incredibly funny and incredibly terrifying, because it shows how deep this mass delusion has penetrated the heartland. It would be a whole lot less scary if he were the black sheep whose family thought he was _crazy_ for dressing like half-naked Viking caveman, putting on his body paint and heading to DC to get rid of AOC once and for all. Instead they think this is what real Americans are supposed to do. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry, ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-man-charged-with-stealing-speakers-podium/930157/107 "2021-01-15T15:07:57Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > The guy, unbeknownst to the agents, taped most of the interview, a little over two hours worth. He told the agents this afterwards and they did not confiscate the tape or threaten him or anything. During the interview he recanted his tale of election fraud. Then this moron went right back to Veritas, handed them the tape, recanted the recant, and proceeded to crowdfund a ton of money although, during the interview, the agents made it clear that was a bad idea. The postal worker was named Richard Hopkins, and according to [The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/postal-worker-fabricated-ballot-pennsylvania/2020/11/10/99269a7c-2364-11eb-8599-406466ad1b8e_story.html), he “told investigators from the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General that the allegations were not true, and he signed an affidavit recanting his claims”. It seems to me that if he later tried to claim that he did see fraud, that’s a problem for him, because of the signed affidavit. There were a bunch of judges who investigated election fraud claims and no evidence was ever shown. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-man-charged-with-stealing-speakers-podium/930157/108 "2021-01-15T15:17:51Z")
Oh, he’s going to jail. After the interview he behaved like someone told him he had immunity. I wonder if they convinced him he was gonna get pardoned. Please understand that the guy’s claims were total and complete bullshit - anyone that listens to the interview tape will learn he overheard a few mumbled words about the 3rd and the 4th and was annoyed that his supervisors (who I suspect were black woman) were making such a big deal about timely processing of election mail. _ **Please note, again, that I am not claiming there is any truth to any underlying narrative about the link I posted. The source is vile** _ I posted it simply because some one expressed a desire to listen to a federal agent interview a witness/suspect and this is a good example of the techniques. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-man-charged-with-stealing-speakers-podium/930157/109 "2021-01-15T15:25:19Z")
That’s what I don’t get; all of these people who make bullshit claims about election fraud, some like him (or Donald Trump himself) as a way of scamming money from the gullible, but no one ever presented any real evidence under oath. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-man-charged-with-stealing-speakers-podium/930157/110 "2021-01-15T15:30:02Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > no one ever presented any real evidence under oath. It’s almost like… like… _there was no evidence._ ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-man-charged-with-stealing-speakers-podium/930157/111 "2021-01-15T15:31:12Z")
And yet all of those people at the Capitol last week believed in the fraud claims enough to commit federal crimes. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-man-charged-with-stealing-speakers-podium/930157/112 "2021-01-15T15:33:55Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > And yet all of those people at the Capitol last week believed in the fraud claims enough to **commit federal crimes.** - Amusingly, there’s evidence of _that._ ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-man-charged-with-stealing-speakers-podium/930157/113 "2021-01-15T16:04:20Z")
Well, you know what Paul Simon said about it. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-man-charged-with-stealing-speakers-podium/930157/114 "2021-01-15T16:05:35Z")
Actually I have no idea ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-man-charged-with-stealing-speakers-podium/930157/115 "2021-01-15T16:07:14Z")
“All lies and jest, still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.” ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-man-charged-with-stealing-speakers-podium/930157/116 "2021-01-15T16:26:53Z")
If I ever start posting in Cafe Society, I may start a thread on how Paul Simon is the most underrated lyricist ever. From American Tune _And I don’t know a soul that’s not been battered I don’t have a friend that feels at ease I don’t have a dream that’s not been shattered Or driven to its knees But its alright it’s alright ‘Cause we live so well so long_ Sorry for the hijack ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-man-charged-with-stealing-speakers-podium/930157/117 "2021-01-15T16:39:37Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > If I ever start posting in Cafe Society, I may start a thread on how Paul Simon is the most underrated lyricist ever. I wasn’t aware he was underrated. Granted it’s _Rolling Stone_ but he’s ranked 8th on their 100 greatest songwriters list. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-man-charged-with-stealing-speakers-podium/930157/118 "2021-01-15T17:06:07Z")
I’d put him at #3 - behind Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen, myself. But that’s my opinion. I’m not a music geek and I’d soon be out of my depth if I tried to defend that statement. Which is why I don’t frequent Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-man-charged-with-stealing-speakers-podium/930157/119 "2021-01-15T17:25:29Z")
> [@Euphonious\_Polemic](#): > > It’s almost like… like… _there was no evidence._ That’s what has been baffling poor Lou Dobbs: > **[Lou Dobbs Wonders Why It's Been So Hard 'Finding Actual Proof' Of Election Fraud](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lou-dobbs-hard-to-find-proof-2020-election-voter-fraud_n_5ff3a661c5b61817a538ed40?ri18n=true)** > > "Eight weeks from the election, and we still don’t have verifiable, tangible support for the crimes that everyone knows were committed," the Fox Business host said. > [@](#): > > "We’re eight weeks from the election, and **we still don’t have verifiable, tangible support for the crimes that everyone knows were committed** — that is, defrauding other citizens who voted with fraudulent votes,” Dobbs said. > > “We know that’s the case in Nevada, we know it’s the case in Pennsylvania and a number of other states, but **we have had a devil of a time finding actual proof. Why?** Well Lou…you might not like the answer. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2021, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-man-charged-with-stealing-speakers-podium/930157/120 "2021-01-15T18:19:25Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Well Lou…you might not like the answer. Is he really, authentically this stupid? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-man-charged-with-stealing-speakers-podium/930157.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-man-charged-with-stealing-speakers-podium/930157.md?page=7)