U.S. charges Seattle-based Proud Boys member for role in Capitol riots

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department arrested and charged a top member of the Seattle chapter of the far-right Proud Boys group yesterday over allegations he had a role in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 by pro-Trump followers.

Separately, two other Proud Boy members including the leader of the group’s Hawaii Chapter were indicted by a federal grand jury for conspiracy to obstruct Congress, the Justice Department said.

Prosecutors said that 30-year-old Ethan Nordean, also known as Rufio Panman, could face up to 20 years in prison if he is convicted on a charge of impeding an official government proceeding. He also faces other charges, including aiding and abetting.

Nordean did not enter a plea and his attorney did not indicate at a federal court hearing in Washington state whether her client intends to contest the charges. The judge scheduled a hearing for Monday to review a request by the government to hold Nordean in custody pending trial.

Nordean is the self-proclaimed “Sergeant of Arms” for the Seattle chapter of the Proud Boys, an extremist group that describes itself as a “pro-Western fraternal organization for men who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world,” prosecutors said.

Nordean was arrested only hours after Canada named the Proud Boys a terrorist entity, saying that while the group has never mounted an attack in Canada, domestic intelligence forces have become increasingly worried about it.

The Proud Boy’s founder, Gavin McInnes, is a Canadian who lives in the United States.

The indictment against Nicholas Ochs, 34, of Honolulu, and Nicholas DeCarlo, 30, of Burleson, Texas, said the two men agreed before Jan. 6 to travel to Washington to “stop, delay and hinder” the certification of

President Joe Biden’s election victory, the Justice Department said. The riot led to five deaths, including a Capitol Police officer.

After entering the Capitol, Ochs and DeCarlo posted videos of their actions on social media in real time and “defaced the U.S. Capitol by scrawling onto its Memorial Door the words ‘MURDER THE MEDIA’,” it said.

If convicted, DeCarlo and Ochs face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, the Justice Department said. Both men were arrested last month.