After his arrest, Johnston was indicted by a federal grand jury alongside four other Jan. 6 defendants; the government alleged that all five men took part in the battle at the lower west tunnel leading into the Capitol, where some of the worst rioter-on-law-enforcement violence took place on Jan. 6.

The FBI alleged that video footage showed Johnston “handing up a stolen U.S. Capitol police shield to other rioters” and that Johnston “participated with other rioters in a group assault” on the officers protecting the lower west tunnel.