Actor Jay Johnston arrested on Capitol attack charges

Jay Johnston in 2008
(Image credit: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)

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.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.