BRADENTON — A Manatee County man who served prison time and was later pardoned by President Donald Trump for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol has filed as a candidate for election to the Manatee County Commission.
Adam Johnson gained national notoriety as the “Lectern Guy” or the “Podium Guy,” due to a now viral photo of him posing with Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s podium in the Capitol rotunda on the day that an angry mob attempted to thwart the certification of the 2020 presidential election.
According to documents available through the local Supervisor of Elections, Johnson submitted his filing forms to seek election to the county’s District 6 county-wide seat this week, on Jan. 6, the fifth anniversary of the Capitol riot.
Johnson has filed as a Republican candidate.
During a Thursday ABC7 Sarasota interview, Johnson confirmed that the date of his campaign filing was an intentional “marketing decision.”
Johnson’s campaign website—which features a silhouette logo of him standing with a podium—states, “I’m a Conservative. I’m MAGA. And I’m running because Manatee County deserves leadership that actually lives those values.”
Johnson is 41 years old and currently lives in Parrish with his wife and children. He is the father of five boys.
Notably, his candidate forms filed with the SOE do not list his mailing address as his home address in Parrish, but rather a “care of” address in Jensen Beach—more than 100 miles across the state, on the east coast of Florida.
A “care of” mailing address generally means that all official mail and correspondence should be delivered to someone else on the addressee’s behalf.
In his filing, Johnson assigned himself as his campaign treasurer, which is not at all uncommon, but listed his mailing address as 2055 NW Diamond Creek Way, Jensen Beach, Florida. His campaign’s designated bank is also in Jensen Beach.
The address Johnson listed belongs to Political Accounting Group LLC, an accounting firm specializing in campaign and political accounting and finance. The business is owned by Michael and Debra Millner.
Candidate campaigns are not the only accounting work that Millner’s firm handles; numerous political committees (PACs) registered with the Florida Department of State also include the 2055 NW Diamond Creek Way address and the Millners’ name.
For example, the Citizens Alliance for Florida’s Economy PAC, chaired by political consultant Anthony Pedicini, lists Michael Millner as its treasurer, with the firm’s Jensen Beach address. The PAC has been registered and active since 2014.
Pedicini’s business partner at the Tampa-based consulting firm SIMWINS, Thomas Piccolo, chairs the Building a Brighter Future for Florida PAC. Millner and his Jensen Beach address appear designated as both the PAC’s treasurer and registered agent. The political committee was first registered in 2018.
Business registration records available through the Florida Division of Corporations also reveal that SIMWINS has three reported title partners: Pedicini, Piccolo, and David Millner.
The Sunbiz record shows David Millner’s address as located in Vero Beach.
It is unclear whether David Millner of SIMWINS is of any direct relation to Michael Millner of the Jensen Beach Political Accounting Group, LLC.
For his part, Johnson told ABC7 on Thursday that he is running for local office because he believes real change begins in “our backyard.”
In the nearly 25-minute interview available in full on ABC7 Sarasota's website, Johnson levied multiple criticisms of the county government and the direction of Manatee County.
The candidate asserted that there is “a lot of waste, fraud, and abuse” at the local level, citing allegations from Florida CFO Blaise Ingoglia last fall. Ingoglia is a Gov. DeSantis appointee who is also running for election in 2026.
So far, Ingoglia’s office has not released a detailed, itemized list of identified instances of waste, fraud, and abuse within Manatee County; instead, it has provided only a total amount of alleged overspending based on a budget comparison.
In the interview, Johnson asserted that local “taxes continue to go up for our property,” though Manatee County Commissioners have actually approved three consecutive years of modest millage rate cuts. While most property values have increased during those years, overall county millage rates have not.
In March 2025, Johnson filed a civil lawsuit against six out of seven Manatee County commissioners, claiming corruption and waste of taxpayer dollars related to a vote not to seek legal fees from former commissioner and TBT Publisher Joe McClash.
McClash sought an administrative hearing review regarding a 2023 prior board’s vote to roll back local wetland buffer requirements to the lesser state minimums. When a new BOCC was seated in 2024, they reversed the prior decision to reduce wetland protections and to forgo seeking attorneys’ fees from McClash.
Despite the lawsuit, in the ABC7 interview, Johnson stated that preserving local wetland buffer regulations would be a priority for him if elected commissioner.
As for January 6, Johnson said he wanted to clear the air about a widespread misrepresentation of what he did that day he entered the Capitol building. Johnson shared that the allegations that he “stole” something (Pelosi’s lectern, specifically) on Jan. 6 are patently false, as he never left the building with the item.
Johnson was never convicted of a theft related to that day.
Johnson says that he is still very much the same person as he was the day he participated in the breach of the Capitol building, telling ABC7, “I’m a staunch conservative and a constitutionalist. You have a right to show up and protest and have your voice be heard, and D.C. is a great place to do that.”
Briefly touching on what drove him to D.C. that day, Johnson included his belief that the 2020 presidential election was riddled with fraud. He repeatedly referred to the Capitol riot as a “protest,” and at one point compared the event to protests at the Judge Brett Kavanaugh hearing in 2018.
Though Johnson repeatedly referred to the events at the Capitol in January 2021 as “a protest,” he also acknowledged that “some people got out of hand,” adding that he has never supported assaulting police officers—an act he referred to as “always bad.”
In November 2021, Johnson resolved his case by pleading guilty to entering and remaining in a restricted building without lawful authority; prosecutors dropped the remaining charges against him, including one count of theft of government property and one count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
He was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine, served 75 days in federal prison, and completed one year of probation upon release.
At his sentencing, Johnson apologized for his actions, telling the judge, "I am pleading guilty because I am guilty."
Johnson received a pardon from President Trump in January 2025 when the newly reelected president issued pardons or commutations for more than 1,500 people convicted or charged in connection with the US Capitol riot. At the time of the broad-sweeping executive action, Johnson had already completed his sentence.
According to an updated 2023 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the total cost of the January 6, 2021, incident at the U.S. Capitol to American taxpayers was likely upwards of $2.7 billion.
It is estimated that somewhere between $1-3 million was spent just to clean up and repair damage to the grounds and Capitol building, while the total $2.7 billion estimate includes the taxpayers' costs for over two years of spending across multiple agencies, to include long-term security improvements, mitigation upgrades, and response costs, as well as investigation and prosecution costs.
In July 2022, Tiffany Tompkins of the Bradenton Herald compiled video clips from federal court files to create a timeline of Adam Johnson’s actions, as presented in court, during the Jan. 6 riot on the Capitol in Washington, D.C. That video can be viewed below.
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Cat L
That dude was dumb enough to steal on camera after breaking in during a riot, and got turned in before he'd even left the Capitol building. Then he complained about being persecuted, as if he didn't do the thing I'm not convinced I've seen anything demonstrating any good qualities of leadership.
I'd say it's funny, but I didn't think the Don could get into office either.....
Friday, January 9 Report this
Graciela0107
IMHO one felon in government is more than enough. Replacing Jason Bearden is a great thought but, apparently, this lectern thief is not the sharpest pencil in the box. No thanks to bad rubbish!
Friday, January 9 Report this
GCDUBBAU
Whatever his conservative views may be, many of which I might agree with, I will not vote for anyone connected to the Pedicini cabal. We’ve seen how that plays out.
Friday, January 9 Report this
jwhoye56
Let’s make sure this idiot does not get elected. He doesn’t represent me.
One a criminal, always a criminal. Great example for his family.
Friday, January 9 Report this
rjckeuka4
"I'm a Conservative...I'm a M.A.G.A.! About all I can say is we have more than enough "Morons Are Governing America! No need to add one!
Friday, January 9 Report this
Dianna
A hard NO!
Friday, January 9 Report this
Debann
Another clown wanting to be a Commissioner...COLOR ME SHOCKED..obviously he thrives on being a public disgrace..January 6th was a disgrace..HE WILL BE A CONFIRMED VOTE NO FROM OUR HOUSE ...
Friday, January 9 Report this
Lktinsanfran
Exactly how does this person define "constitutionalist?" Does he mean that because he broke so many laws from the Constitution? He's a traitor and I am so angry at Trump for pardoning or commuting all the January 6th seditionists. That was such an insult to America. I love envisioning having someone breaking into the January 6'ers homes and trying to take their things. You know guns would be blazing. Just like "Stranger Things," we are definitely in the "Upside Down."
Friday, January 9 Report this
Hieronymus
He’s still very proud of what he did and has sought to profit from it since being pardoned. But he has scant little actual work experience and has never participated in or offered input at county commission meetings. As far as running on ‘Affordability’, I’m not trusting anyone who has referred on X to ‘The Poors’ with making things more affordable.
Friday, January 9 Report this