Auburn man sentenced to 18 years in prison for leading Proud Boys in breach of U.S. Capitol on January 6th
Sunday, September 3, 2023
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| Auburn resident Ethan Nordean |
Their actions disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress that was in the process of ascertaining and counting the electoral votes necessary to certify the 2020 presidential election.
- Ethan Nordean, 32, of Auburn, Washington, was sentenced to 18 years in prison and 36 months of supervised release.
- Dominic Pezzola, 45, of Rochester, New York, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 36 months of supervised release.
On May 4, 2023, a jury found Nordean, Pezzola, and three other co-defendants guilty of multiple felonies, including obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy to prevent members of Congress or federal officers from discharging their duties before and during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Defendant Ethan Nordean was previously convicted of seditious conspiracy.
According to court documents and evidence presented during the trial, the Proud Boys organization had played a significant and often violent role in prior Washington, D.C. rallies in November and December 2020.
In the aftermath of that violent conduct, Nordean and other co-defendants served as members and leaders of a special chapter of the Proud Boys known as the “Ministry of Self-Defense.”
Beginning after December 19, 2020, Nordean, Pezzola, and other co-defendants conspired to prevent, hinder, and delay the certification of the Electoral College vote and to oppose by force the authority of the government of the United States.
In the days leading to January 6, Nordean and other leaders of the Ministry of Self-Defense hand-selected co-defendant Dominic Pezzola and others known as “rally boys” to participate in the attack on the Capitol that day.
Beginning after December 19, 2020, Nordean, Pezzola, and other co-defendants conspired to prevent, hinder, and delay the certification of the Electoral College vote and to oppose by force the authority of the government of the United States.
In the days leading to January 6, Nordean and other leaders of the Ministry of Self-Defense hand-selected co-defendant Dominic Pezzola and others known as “rally boys” to participate in the attack on the Capitol that day.
This group established a chain of command, chose a time and place for their attack, and recruited others who would follow their top-down leadership and who were prepared to engage in physical violence if necessary.
- On January 6, Nordean, Pezzola, and others they led participated in every consequential breach at the Capitol. The defendants directed and mobilized a group of Proud Boys onto the Capitol grounds, leading to the dismantling of metal barricades, destruction of property, breaching of the Capitol building, and assaults on law enforcement.
- The group began their assault that day at 10am. when Nordean and others marched nearly 200 individuals away from speeches at the Ellipse directly toward the Capitol. They arrived at the First Street gate at 12:50pm.
- Nordean, Pezzola, and other co-defendants led their recruits up the First Street walkway, breaching multiple barricades and tearing down fencing.
- Nearly an hour later, when law enforcement appeared to have successfully controlled the crowd by pushing them back, the men again pushed forward.
- Nordean, Pezzola, and others gathered at the base of the concrete stairs that led to the doors and windows of the Capitol with many of their co-conspirators and other men they had led to the Capitol.
- The group again surged toward the Capitol and overwhelmed officers who had been battling the crowd for nearly an hour. Pezzola smashed open a window allowing the first rioters to enter the Capitol at 2:11pm.
During the hearing, U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly applied the enhancement for a federal crime of terrorism to the defendants convictions for destruction of government property.
This case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section, and the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. The charges in the investigation are the result of significant cooperation between agents and staff across numerous FBI Field Offices and law enforcement agencies.
In the 31 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,106 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 350 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov
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5 comments:
This sentence runs afoul of the 8th Amendment test which forbids cruel and unusual punishment. I'm no fan of Nordean, but the man's actions amount to pushing over a fence and maybe breaking a window. He assaulted no one, did not greatly endanger anyone, and yet he received a sentence almost twice as long as the arsonists who set part of downtown Seattle ablaze during the 2020 BLM riots.
I fully expect many of these harshest sentences to be commuted by a future president if they are not overturned by appeals courts first.
Maybe Maybe not...l can only think of one presidential candidate who would commute the sentences. However he is going through his own court battles.
Replying to the other person who said that his sentence was unfair... it's not. He lead a group and participated in a failed coup'd'etat of our country and tried to overturn our government and our fair electoral process, instilling fear and doubt into our lawmakers and nation... that is damage that cannot be undone and must be punished. He fought with principles of hatred towards anyone who wasn't like him. At least in the "riots" of 2020, where it was not the protestors but people who misused the situation to cause mayhem, they seemed to fight for a good cause -- putting a stand against police brutality and racism in our nation.
If you can’t do the time, don’t commit the crime. Everyone knows what the consequences are for launching a coup.
Replying to comment #3, consider the case of Montez Terriel Lee Jr. He set a Minneapolis pawn shop on fire during the George Floyd riots of 2020 and killed a person inside the store. The standard sentencing range for this crime was in excess of 17 years. The DOJ argued for a reduced sentence of 12 years because he was supposedly "protesting racism," and the judge went even lower, sentencing him to 10 years.
There is significant bias in how federal sentences are handed down today, depending upon whether the political motivations of the assailants are left- or right-wing. That Nordean was handed down a sentence 1.8 times as long as a convicted arsonist killer is a profound injustice, one that is likely to be corrected by almost any president with an R behind their name.
Last, was the cause of 2020 actually good? Derek Chauvin faced justice. The years since have demonstrated conclusively that our overreaction to George Floyd has been a policy nightmare. Organized retail theft pushing businesses to close locations, depolicing on our highways leading to record deaths on the roads, the scourge of tit for tat gang murders that frighten our communities -- that is the real legacy of the 2020 BLM protests.
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