Proud Boys member to remain in custody

Judge halts release after appeal in breach case

SEATTLE — The self-described “sergeant-at-arms” of the Seattle chapter of the Proud Boys group will remain in custody for now pending charges filed in connection with the riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Magistrate Judge Brian Tsuchida in Seattle initially said Monday that 30-year-old Ethan Nordean should be released pending trial, rejecting the government’s arguments that he posed a danger to the community and was a flight risk. But Tsuchida then halted his own decision and gave the Justice Department time to appeal.

Within hours, an appeal had been filed and U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington, D.C., further blocked Nordean’s release pending a review. She also directed U.S. marshals to transport Nordean to the District of Columbia to face the charges against him.

The Proud Boys are known for brawling with “antifa” demonstrators. At least eight defendants linked to the group have been charged in the Capitol riot.

Nordean, of Auburn, Washington, also goes by the name Rufio Panman and has described himself as the sergeant-at-arms and as the president of the Proud Boys’ Seattle chapter.

He was arrested last week after being charged in federal court in Washington, D.C., with obstructing an official proceeding, aiding and abetting others who damaged federal property, and knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building. Obstructing an official proceeding, the most serious of the charges, carries a possible sentence of up to 20 years in prison. Nordean has not entered pleas to any of the charges.

The Justice Department said Nordean helped plan the Proud Boys’ actions at the Capitol, marched at the front of a group of Proud Boys shortly before the Jan. 6 riot and broke into the Capitol building with other members of the group. He was near the front of the mob that confronted vastly outnumbered Capitol Police officers, prosecutors said.

Meanwhile, a New Hampshire man who was inside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 siege and gave an account to a television station is accused of taking a book from the U.S. Senate and a bottle of wine from an office.

Daniel Riddle, 32, of Keene, was arrested Monday on a warrant issued from Washington charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; theft of government property; and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

An affidavit says Riddle admitted he took the wine and a leather-bound book titled “Senate Procedure.” He said he sold the book to someone for $40.