Justice Department Unveils Further Charges in Capitol Riot (NYT)

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https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/03/us/politics/capitol-riot-charges.html

Justice Department Unveils Further Charges in Capitol Riot
Two men were charged with conspiracy and another with leading a mob of 100 people who stormed the building on Jan. 6.
By Katie Benner and Alan Feuer
Feb. 3, 2021, 8:06 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department continued building cases on Wednesday against people accused of storming the Capitol, arresting a leader of the far-right group the Proud Boys and charging two men with conspiracy in an effort to block certification of President Biden’s victory in the election.

Ethan Nordean, the self-described “sergeant of arms” of the Seattle chapter of the Proud Boys, was arrested on Wednesday morning, federal prosecutors said. He had been under investigation for more than a week after prosecutors named him in court papers as a chief organizer of a mob of about 100 other members of the group that marched through Washington on Jan. 6, ending at the Capitol building.

Separately, Nicholas DeCarlo, a 30-year-old Texas man, and Nicholas Ochs, a founder of Hawaii’s chapter of the Proud Boys, were charged with conspiring with one another and unnamed co-conspirators to stop the certification of Mr. Biden’s Electoral College win as part of last month’s riot at the Capitol, according to the indictment.

Their indictments highlighted the government’s effort to bring more serious charges against some of the scores of people who were initially charged with lesser crimes after the attack. The two men had earlier been charged with unlawful entry and obstructing an official proceeding.

Mr. DeCarlo and Mr. Ochs were charged in an indictment with conspiring with others to create a plan to stop Congress, raising money online to fund travel to Washington to carry out their plan, crossing state lines to obstruct Congress and forcibly storming the Capitol building.

Combined with the separate charges against Mr. Nordean, the indictment against Mr. Ochs and Mr. DeCarlo also underscored the increasingly prominent role that the Proud Boys is accused of playing in the assault.


Ethan Nordean, with megaphone, leads a group claiming to be part of the Proud Boys and in support of former President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6. (Carolyn Kaster / The Associated Press)