Bob’s Burgers, Arrested Development and Anchorman actor held over Capitol riot
8 June 2023, 07:44
Jay Johnston, who voiced Jimmy Pesto in animated comedy Bob’s Burgers, is accused of civil disorder.
Bob’s Burgers actor Jay Johnston is accused of joining a mob of Donald Trump supporters who confronted police officers during the US Capitol riot, court records show.
Charges levelled at the 54-year-old, who voiced the cartoon comedy show’s character Jimmy Pesto, include civil disorder.
A magistrate released the actor on a 25,000-dollar (£20,087) bond after an initial court appearance in California.
Video footage caught Johnston pushing against police and helping rioters who attacked officers guarding an entrance to the Capitol in a tunnel on the Lower West Terrace, an FBI agent’s affidavit says.
Johnston held a stolen police shield over his head and passed it to other rioters during the attack on January 6 2021, the affidavit adds.
He “was close to the entrance of the tunnel, turned back and signalled for other rioters to come towards the entrance”, the agent wrote.
Johnston was “banned” from Bob’s Burgers after the January 6 attack, The Daily Beast reported in December 2021.
He also appeared on Mr Show With Bob And David, and HBO sketch comedy series starring Bob Odenkirk and David Cross.
His credits also include minor parts on the television show Arrested Development and in the film Anchorman, which stars Will Ferrell.
United Airlines records show Johnston booked a round-trip flight from Los Angeles to Washington, DC, departing on January 4 2021 and returning a day after the riot, according to the FBI.
Thousands of people stormed the Capitol on January 6 after attending then-US president Donald Trump’s Stop The Steal rally.
While the mob attacked police in the tunnel with pepper spray and other weapons, Johnston helped other rioters near the tunnel pour water on their faces and then joined in pushing against the line of officers, the FBI says.
“The rioters co-ordinated the timing of the pushes by yelling ‘Heave! Ho!’” the affidavit says.
Three current or former associates of Johnston identified him as a riot suspect from photographs the FBI published online, according to the agent.
The FBI said one of those associates provided investigators with a text message in which Johnston acknowledged being at the Capitol on January 6.
“The news has presented it as an attack. It actually wasn’t. Thought it kind of turned into that. It was a mess. Got maced and tear gassed and I found it quite untastic,” Johnston wrote, according to the FBI.
More than 1,000 people have been charged with federal crimes for their conduct at the Capitol on January 6.
More than 500 of them have been sentenced, with more than half jailed for terms ranging from seven days to 18 years, according to a review of court records.
