Jay Johnston, the actor known for small roles in Anchorman, Arrested Development and Bob’s Burgers as well as “handing up a stolen U.S. Capitol police shield to other rioters,” on January 6, will be entering a new plea in his case, according to court documents obtained by The Daily Beast.
Johnston originally pleaded not guilty to the charges against him last year for his role in the attack on the Capitol, which include felony obstruction of officers and several misdemeanors, including knowingly entering a restricted building unlawfully and impeding passage through, or within, Capitol grounds or any Capitol buildings. But on Monday, another plea agreement hearing was added to his docket for July 8, at which point he is likely to change his plea to guilty.
Before being identified in photos the FBI posted to social media of the Jan. 6 riots, Johnston had tried to keep his presence at the Capitol under wraps by going off the grid and downplaying his involvement to colleagues who’d recognized him in the photos.
ADVERTISEMENT
Lucas Astrom, the director of Wing Dad, a film Johnston had starred in, told The Daily Beast in 2021 that Johnston “said he was just at the protest and didn’t go into the Capitol physically, so I have to take him at his word on that,” he said, as Johnston hadn’t been charged or arrested at the time.
Social media users have relished connecting Johnston’s insurrectionist comeuppance to roles like his performance in Anchorman’s news fight scene.
Johnston’s former writing partner and Mr. Show castmate Paul F. Tompkins expressed his surprise at seeing Johnston in photos of the riots earlier this year when he told The Daily Beast, “Somebody you haven’t been in touch with in a while, and then you see them at the Capitol Riot, I think that’s a shocking thing for sure.” The Daily Beast previously broke the news that Johnston was banned from Bob's Burgers in 2021, after voicing the character Jimmy Pesto for 43 episodes.
A lawyer for Johnston did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
