‘Bob’s Burgers’ Actor Jay Johnston Finally Pleads Guilty to Jan. 6 Offense
Bob’s Burgers voice actor Jay Johnston plead guilty on Monday to obstructing officers during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Johnston is facing up to five years in prison for the felony charge after the FBI was able to identify him as rioter No. 247 on the bureau’s Capitol violence database.
During the course of its case against Johnston, FBI shared video footage of the veteran comedian shoving against police officers, encouraging other rioters to enter the Capitol after him, and giving an officers’ shield to other rioters.
One of Johnston’s associates apparently helped rat the actor out, showing texts to the FBI where Johnston wrote that the insurrection wasn’t an attack, although “it kind of turned into that.”
“It was a mess,” Johnston wrote. “Got maced and tear gassed and I found it quite untastic [sic].”
The Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy star’s “untastic” and unscripted fall from grace didn’t end after he was tear gassed and arrested. He also lost his role as the voice actor behind Jimmy Pesto, a recurring, snarky pizzeria owner on the TV show Bob’s Burgers, The Daily Beast scooped back in 2021.
The Supreme Court recently narrowed an “obstruction of an official proceeding” law that was used to charge hundreds of Jan. 6 rioters—though Johnston was never charged with the offense and pled guilty to a separate crime, meaning that his case will likely not be affected by the ruling.
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