Proud Boys Spent Weeks Planning the U.S. Capitol Siege; Leader Ethan Nordean Poses a ‘Serious Risk of Flight’: Prosecutors

Ethan Nordean is seen in an image embedded in court documents filed by the U.S. Department of Justice. Federal prosecutors are asking a judge to hold admitted Proud Boys member Ethan Nordean , also known as “Rufio Panman ,” in jail without bond on charges that he played a role in a Jan. 6th siege on the U.S. Capitol Complex.  Nordean poses a “serious risk of flight,” prosecutors said in a memorandum in support of pretrial detention filed Friday, Feb. 5. “[T]here are no conditions, or combination of conditions, which would ensure Defendant’s presence at trial or the safety of the community if he is released,” prosecutors told a Washington, D.C. federal judge. They argued that Nordean’s association with the Proud Boys makes him different from other defendants. “Whereas some of these rioters traveled to Washington, D.C., individually, a number of extremist and militia groups coordinated together to gather in Washington, expressing in advance their intent to interfere with the Electoral College certification,” prosecutors said in reference to Joe Biden ‘s selection as the nation’s 46th president. “One such extremist group was the Proud Boys.” The memorandum goes on to outline Nordean’s involvement with the group. Defendant, a 30-year old resident of the State of Washington, is a Proud Boys member who occupies leadership positions in the Seattle Chapter—having self- identified as both the Sergeant of Arms and the President of that Chapter at various times. Defendant has been present at a number of Proud Boys protests—including, notably, in Portland, Oregon, where he was made “internet famous” for knocking out a counter-protester during a street brawl. After that infamous punch, Nordean appeared at length on InfoWars with Alex Jones . Again, from the court papers: Beginning shortly after that brawl, Defendant’s stock rose within the Proud Boys and he took on a more prominent role in nationwide Proud Boys events— including the “Million MAGA March,” which occurred on November 14, 2020, in Washington, D.C., and the “December Demonstration,” which took place on December 12, 2020, in Washington, D.C. Ethan Nordean, a.k.a. Rufio Panman, appears on InfoWars with Alex Jones. (Image via screen capture from InfoWars.) The memorandum indicates federal authorities are digging further into the communications of Proud Boys members. It says the Proud Boys started talking online about the Jan. 6th rally “as early as December 2020” and that Proud Boys leader Enrique Terrio told members not to wear the group’s “traditional Black and Yellow” garb. Rather, members should be “incognito,” the court documents quote Terrio as saying, or that some should dress in solid black to mimic the Antifa protesters “whom the Proud Boys have identified as an enemy.” Nordean dressed in all black at the Jan. 6th siege.  (An Associated Press photo of Nordean at the event was embedded in the federal court document.) Prosecutors cited Nordean’s personal Parler account as evidence that he, too, was involved with planning efforts by the Proud Boys to participate in the deadly events. Again, from the memorandum: Defendant was quickly identified as a participant in the riot, due to his prominent position amongst the Proud Boys and the number of images of his likeness published on the Internet. In investigating Defendant’s involvement on January 6, 2021, it quickly became apparent that he planned to participate in advance. Defendant was an active poster on the social media site “Parler,” where he identified himself as “Rufio Panman.” [ . . . ] Defendant’s Parler posts prior to January 6, 2021, indicate that he and other Proud Boys members were planning in advance to organize a group that would attempt to overwhelm police barricades and enter the United States Capitol building. For example, on or about, December 27, 2020, NORDEAN posted the following message on his Parler page: “Anyone looking to help us with safety/protective gear, or communications equipment it would be much appreciated, things have gotten more dangerous for us this past year, anything helps.” The post then linked to a fundraising site called “Protective gear and communications by Rufio Panman.” [ . . . ] Also on or about, January 4, 2020, Defendant shared a post by a fellow Proud Boy leader, Individual A. Individual A posted a picture on Parler of himself and Defendant at a protest with the caption: “And fight we will.” Later, prosecutors recounted a Jan. 4, 2021 video podcast, which lasted some 63 minutes, where Nordean is said to have made the following comments: 1. Defendant stated “People don’t understand the price that comes with being a Patriot these days.” Individual A agreed, stating: “This stuff is real. We are in a war.” 2. Defendant stated that, as President of his local Proud Boys chapter, he has been telling his “guys” that they need to “make [themselves] an enemy of this corrupt system.” Defendant further stated: “The police are starting to become a problem.” 3. Defendant lamented what he perceived “blatant, rampant voter fraud” in the Presidential election.” Defendant further stated that the perpetrators of voter fraud expected to be able to get away with it, because “they’re relying on complacency. I think they’re relying on the Facebook posts, and that’s all we’re going to do.” 4. Defendant stated that he and the other Proud Boys were not going to be complacent. Rather, they were going to “bring back that original spirit of 1776 of what really established the character of what America is. And it’s not complacency, it’s not low standards. It’s ‘this is how it’s going to be, and I don’t give a god damn.’” 5. Defendant stated that voter fraud in the Presidential election had killed democracy and added, ominously “Democracy is dead? Well, then no peace for you. No democracy, no peace.” 6. Individual A then stated, “We’re coming back. We’re coming to D.C. and were going to take this country back. Your gifts, and your thoughts, and your financial contributions will not go for nothing.” Nordean is then accused of saying the following on Jan. 5th, the day before the siege: “It is apparent now more than ever, that if you are a patriot, you will be targeted and they will come after you, funny thing is that they don’t realize is, is we are coming for them.” After the siege, on Jan. 8th, he’s accused of saying that “if you feel bad for the police, you are part of the problem.” Prosecutors took that to be an example of Nordean “making light of the United States Capitol Police officer who was killed during the riot and the dozens of other officers who were injured by rioters because those officers used pepper spray in an attempt to contain the rioters.” A search of Nordean’s residence turned up evidence of his travel plans; clothes and “other items” containing Proud Boys logos; “ledgers, notebooks, and other records related to Proud Boys operations;” photos; videos; a radio communications system believed to be used during the Jan. 6th siege; and a passport “issued to another individual with a comparative likeness to” Nordean. Prosecutors say this unsigned passport portrays another man but was seized from Ethan Nordean’s home. (Image via federal court documents submitted by the U.S. Dept. of Justice.) Prosecutors are seeking to keep Nordean locked up pending trial because they say he poses “a serious risk of flight,” among other things. Under the Bail Reform Act, a court must weigh four factors when determining whether to keep a defendant incarcerated pending trial. The factors are: (1) the nature and circumstances of the offense charged; (2) the weight of the evidence against the defendant; (3) his history and characteristics; and (4) the nature and seriousness of the danger to any person or the community that would be posed by his release. The government argues that all four factors weigh in favor of keeping Nordean locked up: Defendant, a member of a right-wing militia, knowingly and willfully participated in a riot that was designed to prevent the United States Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 Presidential election. Not only did Defendant participate in the riot, but his public statements indicate that he was part of the group that helped plan how the Proud Boys would act during the riot. [ . . . ] Words alone may never communicate the true nature of the crimes that were carried out on January 6. It is an event that cannot be measured in the number dead, injured, or wounded, but rather in the destabilizing effect that it has had on this country. This destabilizing effect is precisely what Defendant envisioned when he helped plan, helped lead, and participated in the Proud Boys’ participation in the riot at the Capitol building. Read the full 21-page document below: Ethan Nordean Pretrial Dete… by Law&Crime
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