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“Anchorman” actor Jay Johnston pleads guilty to interfering with police during Jan. 6 riot

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An actor who played a street-brawling newsman in the movie “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” and a pizzeria owner in the television series “Bob’s Burgers” pleaded guilty on Monday to interfering with police officers trying to protect the U.S. Capitol from a mob’s attack on Jan. 6, 2021.

Jay Johnston, 55, of Los Angeles, faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison after pleading guilty to civil disorder, a felony. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols is scheduled to sentence Johnston on Oct. 7.

Johnston’s attorney, Stanley Woodward, told his client not to comment to reporters as they left the courtroom.

Johnston, who was arrested last June, is one of more than 1,400 people charged with federal crimes stemming from the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The FBI alleges that video footage captured Johnston pushing against police and helping rioters who attacked officers guarding an entrance to the Capitol in a tunnel on the Lower West Terrace, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit. Johnston held a stolen police shield over his head and passed it to other rioters during the attack on Jan. 6, 2021, the affidavit says.

Capitol Riot Actor Charged
This image from Washington Metropolitan Police Department body-worn video, released and annotated by the Justice Department in the statement of facts supporting an arrest warrant for Jay James Johnston, shows Johnston, circled in yellow, at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

/ AP


Johnston “was close to the entrance to the tunnel, turned back and signaled for other rioters to come towards the entrance,” the agent wrote.

Video allegedly shows Johnston, wearing a green camouflage neck gaiter and a dark leather jacket, “participated with other rioters in a group assault on the officers,” prosecutors said, and later “joined other rioters in pushing repeatedly against the defending police officers.”

“The rioters coordinated the timing of the pushes by yelling ‘Heave! Ho!'” prosecutors wrote, while posting more than a dozen screen grabs of video from the incident.

Johnston was the voice of the character Jimmy Pesto on Fox’s “Bob’s Burgers.” The Daily Beast reported in 2021 that Johnston was “banned” from the animated show after the Capitol attack.

Johnston appeared on “Mr. Show with Bob and David,” an HBO sketch comedy series that starred Bob Odenkirk and David Cross. His credits also include small parts on the television show “Arrested Development” and in the movie “Anchorman,” starring Will Ferrell.

A Chicago native, Johnston started his comedy career by doing improv at The Second City and Annoyance Theater in Chicago before moving to Los Angeles, CBS Chicago reported.

Three current or former associates of Johnston identified him as a riot suspect from photos that the FBI published online, according to the agent. The FBI said one of those associates provided investigators with a text message in which Johnston acknowledged being at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

“The news has presented it as an attack. It actually wasn’t. Thought it kind of turned into that. It was a mess. Got maced and tear gassed and I found it quite untastic,” Johnston wrote, according to the FBI.

The Justice Department has prosecuted more than 1,200 criminal cases in the wake of the Jan. 6 Capitol assault. Of those, more than 700 have pleaded guilty to various charges, and scores more have been convicted. 

Last month, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a former Pennsylvania police officer who was charged with obstructing an official proceeding after he entered the U.S. Capitol building during the riot, and narrowed the Justice Department’s use of a federal obstruction statute leveled against scores of people who breached the building. The decision could affect the ongoing prosecutions of nearly 250 defendants charged with obstruction for their participation in the Jan. 6 assault.

The government has recovered only a fraction of the court-ordered restitution payments for repairs, police injuries and cleanup of the damage caused by the rioters, according to a review by CBS News.  Former President Donald Trump has publicly pledged to pardon Jan. 6 defendants but hasn’t specified whether he would also seek to commute their restitution payments.

Robert Legare, Melissa Quinn and Scott MacFarlane contributed to this report.



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Kamala Harris will speak with “60 Minutes” tomorrow. Here’s what to know for the interview.

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Voters will get the chance to hear from Vice President Kamala Harris on Monday as she presents her case for why she should be president in a “60 Minutes” election special.

For decades, “60 Minutes” has featured both Republican and Democratic nominees for presidents, but this year, former President Donald Trump backed out after previously indicating he would be on the show. Correspondent Scott Pelley, who’d been set to interview Trump, will instead travel to Arizona’s Maricopa County, home to more than 60% of Arizona’s voters and a critical battleground in a key swing state. 

One thing is certain about the election; with the U.S. deeply involved in both the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, whoever wins on Nov. 5 will become a wartime president. 

What Harris will discuss

Israel’s war started one year ago after Hamas launched a surprise terror attack and correspondent Bill Whitaker will discuss the ongoing war with Harris. 

Harris will also discuss the economy, immigration, her record as vice president and the differences between herself and Trump.

Democratic vice presidential candidate Gov. Tim Walz will also appear.

Whitaker joined the Democratic ticket on the campaign trail this week to gain insight into their platform’s priorities and values, and what the candidates believe voters should know. 

Why Trump pulled out of the “60 Minutes” interview

Leading up to the candidate hour, Trump, through campaign spokespeople, was the first candidate to accept the “60 Minutes” request to be interviewed for the special, according to CBS News. It had been agreed that both candidates would receive equal time during the broadcast.

Trump last sat down with 60 Minutes in 2020. He walked out during the interview with Lesley Stahl. Trump referenced the incident on Tuesday night at a Milwaukee press conference when asked about his decision not to participate in the Oct. 7 “60 Minutes” election special. 

“Well, right now, I went to – they came to me and would like me to do an interview, but first I want to get an apology, because the last time I did an interview with them, if you remember, they challenged me on the computer,” Trump said. “They said the ‘laptop from hell’ was from Russia, and I said it wasn’t from Russia. It was from Hunter, and I never got an apology, so I’m sort of waiting. I’d love to do ’60 Minutes.’ I do everything.”

The Republican nominee for president emphasized that he felt he was owed an apology from “60 Minutes.”

“Let’s see if they do it. I wouldn’t mind doing 60,” Trump continued. “I’ve done ’60 Minutes’ a lot.”

In a statement on Tuesday, Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung said that Trump’s team had not agreed to an interview.

“Fake News,” Cheung said in a post on X. “60 Minutes begged for an interview, even after they were caught lying about Hunter Biden’s laptop back in 2020. There were initial discussions, but nothing was ever scheduled or locked in. They also insisted on doing live fact checking, which is unprecedented.”

Previous Trump, Harris appearances on 60 Minutes

Trump previously sat down with “60 Minutes'” Mike Wallace in 1985, Pelley in 2015 and Lesley Stahl twice in 2016, first in July of that year and then again in November of 2016. He also spoke with Stahl again in 2018 and 2020.

Harris previously sat down with Whitaker last year. She also was interviewed by Norah O’Donnell, “CBS Evening News” anchor and “60 Minutes” contributing correspondent, in 2020

How to watch the “60 Minutes” election special



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Kamala Harris discusses U.S. relationship with Israel

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Kamala Harris discusses U.S. relationship with Israel – CBS News


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Monday, on a 60 Minutes election special, Bill Whitaker asks Vice President Kamala Harris if the U.S. lacks influence over American ally Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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Nature: Aspens in Utah – CBS News

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Nature: Aspens in Utah – CBS News


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We leave you this Sunday morning with shades of autumn – aspen trees at Fishlake National Forest in Central Utah. Videographer: Leo McEachern.

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