‘This is so embarrassing’: A ‘Bob’s Burgers’ actor who participated in January 6th is going to prison

Comedic actor and Bob’s Burgers voice artist Jay Johnston has been sentenced to prison for his involvement in the January 6 riots on the Capitol, and fans are grieving the loss of Jimmy Pesto Sr. 

Johnston — who had small screen roles on shows like Arrested Development and The Sarah Silverman Program before voicing the Fox Animation’s long-running antagonist — was convicted on Monday, receiving a sentence of one year and one day in prison. It follows the actor’s guilty plea to the felony count of interfering with law enforcement officers, after videos showed Johnston helping to push against a police line during the 2021 insurrection. 

That sentence was a little less than the 18-month prison stay initially sought by prosecutors, who argued that the voice of Jimmy Pesto Sr. — the archenemy of the comedy cartoon’s title character, Bob Belcher — had shown little remorse for his involvement in the riots in the years since. Prosecutors brought forward a picture of Johnston dressed as a so-called “QAnon Shaman” for Halloween in 2023, as evidence that he had avoided responsibility for his role in the riots. 

Johnston reportedly showed a little more remorse on the day of his sentencing, describing his actions on January 6 as “reprehensible” as the judge handed down the verdict in a D.C. court. In his own statement, Judge Nichols said Johnston’s lengthy acting resume and career in Hollywood made his involvement in the insurrection all the more “inexplicable and troubling,” while the actor’s family recalled him being “blackballed” from Hollywood after the videos from the riots emerged. 

Bob’s Burgers fans have taken to social media to commiserate, with one X user describing Johnston’s involvement in the riots as “so embarrassing” and lamenting his choice to “[throw] away your entire career over Donald Trump.” Others said the entire ordeal was “pretty on brand for Jimmy Pesto,” and reveled in the fact that Bob is “having the last laugh at Jimmy Pesto’s expense.” 

Police began their investigation into Johnston when the FBI shared a message on X seeking the identity of the man in the video. From there, two friends of the actor informed authorities that he had admitted to attending the pro-Donald Trump riots, before his eventual arrest in June of last year.

Fox, the production company behind Bob’s Burgers, declined to comment at the time, but promptly shut up shop on Jimmy Pesto’s Pizzeria, the in-show restaurant that was a major competitor to the Belcher family business.

At the very least, that saved Bob a few headaches. Alongside his long-running stint on Bob’s Burgers — which he was fired from in 2021 as a result of his participating in the insurrection — Johnston also had small roles in Anchorman, Community, and Parks & Recreation, though his actions on January 6 would certainly be condemned by Mrs. Leslie Knope. 

In any case, Johnston wasn’t the only notable figure to be spotted at the riots on January 6, with Britney Spears’ ex-husband seen attending the marches that took place just before insurrectionists stormed the Capitol (oops, he did it again?). More broadly, Johnston is one of multiple celebrities who’ve felt compelled to torpedo their careers by supporting Trump in recent years, with Kid Rock, Hulk Hogan, and more recently Dr. Phil, each endorsing the former president’s current bid for the White House. Word is still out on just how intensely the news will impact Jimmy Pesto’s Pizzeria, but please for the love of God, protect Tina Belcher at all costs.