Record at a Glance
- Category
- Jan 6th
- Age in NPR record
- 34
- Location
- Austin, Texas
- Charges
- Obstruction of Justice/Congress; Knowingly Entering or Remaining in any Restricted Building or Grounds Without Lawful Authority; Violent Entry and Disorderly Conduct on Capitol Grounds
- Case status
- Dismissed in part or full; Deceased
Case Summary
Joseph Barnes is a broker with JLL Austin, a commercial real estate company in Texas. Multiple witnesses who saw a video of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot from London-based news organization ITV News identified Barnes as a man yelling “This is our house! This is our country!” while gesturing at the floor of the Capitol building, according to a criminal complaint. Barnes also appears to be an artist with an affinity for sketching flags, according to a storefront featured on his LinkedIn page that encourages customers to “indulge your patriotism.” The page features artwork of American, Texan and Gadsden (“Don’t Tread on Me”) flags for sale. “A society that puts equality before freedom will get neither,” Barnes wrote to caption a photo of himself pointing an assault-style rifle at the camera on a Facebook page featuring his artwork, according to the criminal complaint.
Case History
Barnes died on June 12, 2021 in a motorcycle crash in Austin, Texas. Accordingly, the government's motion for abatement is granted and the indictment against Mr. Barnes is hereby dismissed.
Sources
- Primary Documentation
NPR Jan. 6 Defendant DatabaseNPR - Primary Documentation
Underlying court recordCourt record linked by NPR
Case summary, charges, procedural updates and image are drawn from the NPR Jan. 6 archive snapshot dated 2026-09-25 unless otherwise indicated.