Pardoned Jan. 6 rioter sentenced to life in prison for child sex crimes

HERNANDO COUNTY, Fla. (WKRC) — A man previously pardoned by President Donald Trump after he was convicted of storming the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, riots is returning to prison.

In February, Andrew Paul Johnson, a 45-year-old handyman from Florida, was found guilty of five counts related to sex crimes against children, including molestation, lewd or lascivious exhibition and transmission of material harmful to a minor. This week, he was sentenced to life in prison, according to a press release from the Office of the State Attorney, Fifth Judicial Circuit, Florida.

The investigation into Johnson’s sex crimes began in July 2025 when Hernando County Sheriff’s deputies were called to a home in Brooksville, Florida. There, deputies were told that Johnson inappropriately touched two victims. A cell phone that Johnson had given the victims in order to communicate with them was also handed over as evidence.

Authorities also found numerous sexually explicit messages on a computer from the app Discord between Johnson and one of the victims, as well as messages where Johnson asked the victim to download another app where they could have more private conversations. He also encouraged them to delete their messages afterward.

During interviews with authorities, one victim shared that Johnson would buy them gifts and food to keep them from reporting him, saying Johnson also asked them to never tell anyone or he would get in trouble.

“We were scared,” one of the victims testified during the trial, according to records obtained by NPR. “Like, we didn’t realize that this stuff was not OK because we were 12 years old.”

In 2024, Johnson pleaded guilty to nonviolent charges for entering the Capitol through a broken window during the Jan. 6 riot. He was among the 1,500 Capitol rioters pardoned by Trump in January 2025 after Trump’s return to office.