On Wednesday, hundreds of Trump supporters stormed into and vandalized the U.S. Capitol building following protests to block Congress from affirming the outcome of the election in president-elect Joe Biden's favor.
In the aftermath of the breach, an unknown eBay user reportedly listed the podium for the U.S. House of Representatives speaker, Nancy Pelosi, for auction on the online marketplace.
Trump Supporter Photographed Carrying the 'Podium'
The listing was circulated across social media after a viral photo showed one of the rioters carrying off the lectern (not podium) of the House.
While the picture is genuine and the individual carrying the lectern was later identified by social media users as Adam Johnson from Bradenton, Florida, it is not yet known whether he was able to leave the building with it.
Was the Item Actually Sold on the Platform?
It is still unclear if the lectern was in fact sold on eBay, but we can confirm that the listing was legitimate. An eBay spokesperson confirmed that any such listings of federal property were "being removed and ended."
However, an archived version of the ad, which can be found here, mentions the "listing was ended by the seller because the item was sold."
The listing, which offered free shipping with an estimated delivery date between Jan. 27 and Jan. 29., appeared to have received 167 offers that culminated in a winning bid of $99,900. The seller, basdvic1, is an eBay member since November 2012 and had received several positive reviews.
Photo of Lectern from Announcement of Trump's Impeachment
It is also possible that the listing and sale of the object was made as a joke. The image of the lectern used in the listing was a Getty Images photo from Sept. 24, 2019, when Pelosi announced the formal impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump. So, while it appears that the listing of the lectern was genuine, it is unclear whether the actual congressional item was sold, or if it had ever left the Capitol building to begin with.
