Arkansas Anarchist in Federal Custody

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

Richard Barnett of the small community of Gravette, Arkansas, had his fifteen minutes of fame this past Wednesday when, as a member of the lawless mob that overran the United States Capitol, he took selfies and posed for photos sitting in Nancy Pelosi's office with his feet on her desk.  Later, outside of the Capitol, Barnett showed off a letter that he had taken off of Pelosi's desk.  After invading the office of the third most powerful individual in the United States government and stealing mail off of her desk, Barnett managed to exit the office and the building with no consequences, give a few press interviews, and then make his way home to Northwest Arkansas.  

Meanwhile, the Federal Bureau of Investigation waded into the matter and began investigating the armed insurrection that had taken place in and around the nation's Capitol Building.  As a part of that effort the FBI started combing through social media and identifying people involved in the anarchy.  Richard Barnett undoubtedly came to their attention quickly.  Arrests began being made.

Yesterday, to Richard Barnett's credit, he turned himself in to the sheriff's office in his home county, and he is now in federal custody.

I don't know Richard Barnett, but I do know the area that spawned him.  My hometown, Noel, Missouri, is located just three miles north of the Arkansas state line, and is about fifteen miles north of the town of Gravette (population 3,340 in 2018).  

Gravette is unique because it is a very small community located in one of the fastest growing counties in Arkansas.  Benton County (population 279,141 in 2019) is the home of Walmart, the world's largest corporation, Tyson Foods, and Jones Truck Lines.  But Gravette sits off by itself in the northwest corner of Arkansas's northwest county, relatively unfazed by the rapid growth of its once small-town neighbors of Bentonville and Rogers.  Current Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson is a native of Bentonville, the county seat of Benton County.

Gravette has a small, struggling hospital, a K-12 school system, and a contingent of small businesses that are common in many communities of that size.  There is a SONIC drive-in and a couple of coffee shops, flea markets and "seconds" shops, and two or three quickstops that sell gasoline, snacks, and fast food.  The town also has a large supermarket, but - as of my last visit a couple of years ago - no Walmart.

In most ways Gravette, Arkansas, is no different than thousands of other small towns in America.   The fact that a resident of this fairly insignificant American community pushed his way into the office of the Speaker of the US House of Representatives wasn't all that surprising, because it is those residents of those types of communities, to whom Trump has been speaking for years.

Trump gave the marching orders, and they marched.  This weekend Trump will be golfing, and Richard Barnett will be cooling his heels behind bars.

And if Richard Barnett thinks that Donald Trump cares about him or his circumstances, he is sadly mistaken.