Actor Jay Johnston arrested on Capitol attack charges

Jay Johnston, an actor known for voicing the character Jimmy Pesto on "Bob's Burgers" and for roles on "Mr. Show with Bob and Dave" and "Arrested Development," was arrested Wednesday in Los Angeles on charges he was part of the mob that confronted police officers during the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

Johnston, 54, is being charged with civil disorder, a felony. In an affidavit, an FBI agent wrote that Johnston was captured on video assisting rioters as they pushed against police officers guarding a tunnel entrance to the Capitol on the Lower West Terrace, The Associated Press reports. The footage showed Johnston holding a stolen police shield over his head and passing it to other rioters, the affidavit said, as well as turning back and signaling to rioters to come closer to the tunnel entrance.

The FBI said it has United Airlines records that show Johnston booked a round-trip flight from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., which brought him to D.C. on Jan. 4, 2021, and back to L.A. on Jan. 7. Three people who know Johnston identified him in photos published by the FBI, the affidavit said, and one of those individuals also provided a text message from Johnston that confirmed he was at the Capitol during the attack.

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In December 2021, The Daily Beast reported that after online sleuths looking at footage of the Capitol riot identified Johnston in the crowd, he was "banned" from voicing Jimmy Pesto.