Robert Barnes (attorney)

Barnes grew up in East Ridge, Tennessee, attended Grace Baptist Academy, and later received a scholarship to the McCallie School, a private all-male high school. Barnes' father died when he was a child.[3]

He later attended Yale University for two years before transferring to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in 1994, citing Yale's elitism as the reason behind his decision to switch schools.[4][5] Barnes graduated from University of Wisconsin Law School.[6]

Barnes was formerly a partner at the Bernhoft Law Firm.[7] While with Bernhoft in 2008, Barnes served as one of actor Wesley Snipes' criminal defense lawyers. After a federal trial, a jury acquitted Snipes of conspiracy and felony tax evasion but convicted him on three out of six counts of misdemeanor failure to file income tax returns.[8] Judge William Terrell Hodges imposed the maximum sentence of three consecutive one-year terms.[9] The convictions and sentence were upheld on appeal, where Snipes was represented by other counsel.[10][11][12]

Barnes represented Ralph Nader in a lawsuits regarding ballot access in Hawaii and Arizona for his 2004 presidential bid. The Hawaiian lawsuit was unsuccessful; however the Arizona lawsuit was ultimately successful in Nader v. Brewer.[13][14][15] He represented eight Covington High School students[16][17] in a lawsuit that was later dismissed.[18][19][17] He represented Alex Jones in the defamation lawsuit that resulted from Jones claiming that the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax,[20][21] litigation that resulted in a judgment against Jones.[22][23]

Barnes was hired as part of Kyle Rittenhouse's defense team following the 2020 Kenosha unrest shooting.[24] He represented bartender Dustin Hice in a sexual assault lawsuit against CNN anchor Don Lemon in 2021,[25] based on a series of allegations that were later retracted.[26]

Barnes also represented Amy Cooper in the Central Park birdwatching incident for the misdemeanor charge of filing a false police report, a charge that was dismissed upon the motion of the prosecutor.[27]

In 2016, Barnes successfully wagered in European betting markets on Donald Trump being elected president of the United States, winning $100,000 USD.[28][3]