July 8 (UPI) — Jay Johnston, the voice of Jimmy Pesto on the animated comedy Bob’s Burgers, pleaded guilty Monday for taking part in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot in 2021.
In Washington, D.C., Johnston, 55, pleaded guilty to one felony count of civil disorder.
Sentencing is set for Oct. 7 before U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols. He is facing a maximum of five years in prison.
Johnston, who surrendered in June 2023 to the FBI field office in Los Angeles, was charged with interfering with law enforcement officers, remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct on those grounds, and impeding passage through the Capitol grounds.
Johnston was indicted by a federal grand jury alongside four other Jan. 6 defendants.
Investigators allege that Johnston was “near the front of the mob” on the west side of the Capitol building. When police began to retreat from the area, he was among those who followed them into a tunnel leading to the building.
After entering the tunnel at about 3:05 p.m., Johnston took a Capitol police riot shield. He joined other rioters attempting to push back a group of officers before leaving the tunnel and handing a shield to another person at about 3:13 p.m.
Court documents show still images of Johnston using a cellphone to take photos or video of clashes with police. He is also shown entering the tunnel, holding the shield and making a “shield wall” with others.
Johnston acknowledged his involvement in the Capitol attack, texting an associate that it “actually wasn’t” an attack. That associate was asked by FBI investigators to confirm photos showing Johnston at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
“The news has presented it as an attack. It actually wasn’t,” Johnson said in a text message. “Thought it kind of turned into that. It was a mess.”
Johnston is No. 247 on the FBI’s Capitol Violence website, which includes photos of some of its most wanted suspects in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. The FBI has made more than 1,400 arrests, with more than 1,000 convictions.
Johnston’s voice on Fox’s animate series Bob’s Burgers was later revived with a different voice actor, the Daily Beast reported in 2021.
Johnston’s acting credits include Anchorman, Mr. Show, Arrested Development and The Sarah Silverman Program. On Silverman’s program, he portrayed police officers.