WASHINGTON, D.C.: A Florida handyman, Andrew Paul Johnson, who U.S. President Donald Trump had pardoned for storming the Capitol on January 6, 2021, was sentenced to life in prison for molesting two children.
On his first day back in the White House last year, Trump pardoned, commuted prison sentences, or ordered the dismissal of cases for all 1,500-plus people charged in the attack. Johnson, 45, was among several January 6 defendants who have now been charged with new crimes since Trump's sweeping act of clemency.
County Circuit Judge Stephen Toner handed down Johnson's life sentence on March 5.
Prosecutors in Hernando County, Florida, said Johnson was convicted in February of two counts of lewd or lascivious molestation of a child and one count of electronically transmitting material harmful to a minor.
Sheriff's deputies began investigating child molestation allegations against Johnson in July 2025. One of the victims told investigators the abuse began around April 2024, several months before Johnson was sentenced for his conviction related to the Capitol riot.
According to a sheriff's office report, Johnson told one of the victims that he expected to receive compensation as a pardoned January 6 defendant. He also said he would include the child in his will to inherit any remaining money. Investigators believed this promise was meant to prevent the child from revealing what Johnson had done.
Investigators also discovered sexually explicit messages that Johnson exchanged with one of the victims on the Discord messaging app, according to the office of Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Bill Gladson. In those messages, Johnson urged the victim to download another app for a more private conversation and suggested deleting their messages afterward, the office said in a news release.
In August 2024, Chief U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg in Washington sentenced Johnson to one year in prison after he pleaded guilty to four misdemeanor charges linked to the riot. Johnson had tried to withdraw his guilty plea, claiming he was pressured into it, but the judge rejected that request before sentencing.
Johnson, who is from Seffner, Florida, carried a bullhorn as he marched to the Capitol after attending President Donald Trump's "Stop the Steal" rally near the White House.
Federal prosecutors said he entered the building through an office window that other rioters had broken. After police used tear gas to disperse the crowd of Trump supporters, Johnson shouted and cursed at officers, prosecutors said.
