WA Proud Boy sentenced to 18 years for role in Jan. 6 insurrection

Ethan Nordean has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, when members of the far-right Proud Boys, under his authority, were among those who stormed the U.S. Capitol building.

Prosecutors wanted Nordean to serve 27 years. Nordean had sought a far lighter sentence, arguing his conduct could not be distinguished from that of hundreds of other people that day, but U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Kelly was not sympathetic to that argument.

"None of Nordean's arguments convinced me that the jury's verdict could not stand," Judge Kelly said after hearing several post-trial arguments on Tuesday.

RELATED: How the PNW's history of far-right extremism played a role on Jan. 6

Judge Kelly also considered statement from officers who defended the Capitol, such as Officer Mark Ode, who wrote a letter to the judge, stating: "They determined their opinion was superior to the Constitution ... and they decided to use violence and terror to impose their will .... I respectfully ask [this court] to consider my experience and all of those who held the line on January 6 and their families who still continue to hold watch [over them]."

On Friday, Nordean's sister told the judge about his ability to bring people together. His wife emphasized the importance of having Nordean present when his daughter learns to drive and start dating.

Nordean acknowledged his role as a leader who had every opportunity to deescalate the situation. He apologized and said he regrets what he did that day.

"A lot of people went to January 6 with good intentions, but passion accelerated and chaos ensued," he said. "Even if we start out with good outcomes, the end result is how we will be judged, as it should be."

The judge, however, highlighted the end result and noted Nordean did not seem to have any regret after the fact, pointing to evidence that showed he would have been willing to go further.

"There's plenty of room to be engaged in politics as a good citizen, but violence doesn't have a part in it," Kelly said. "If we don't have a peaceful transfer of power in this country, we don't have anything."

RELATED: Jury convicts 4 Proud Boys, including WA resident, on seditious conspiracy charge

Nordean's co-defendants, Joseph Biggs and Zachary Rehl, were sentenced Thursday, receiving 17 and 15 years respectively. Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, who was also convicted of seditious conspiracy in a separate case, got 18 years, as well; he and Nordean hold the longest sentences resulting from the attack.

Proud Boys Chairman Henry "Enrique" Tarrio could get the top sentence, though, as the government wants him to serve 33 years. Tarrio will be sentenced on Tuesday, Sept. 5.

(Update notice, 2:48 on Tuesday, 9/05/23: Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years.)

Who is Ethan Nordean?

Nordean, 33, grew up in Auburn in what his attorneys described as a "stable middle-class household." He's married, and according to his attorneys, the pair are raising his 12-year-old daughter from a prior relationship; he has not seen his daughter in more than two years, according to a document filed with the court that sought a lighter sentence.

Nordean's attorneys said he wanted to become a U.S. Navy SEAL but was later "forced to withdraw after incurring a serious physical injury."

"That left him at loose ends," the sentencing memorandum went on. "For most of the rest of his adult life, Nordean, who did not go to college, has cycled through various odd jobs."

His attorneys further described him as a young adult leader at New Life Christian Center and Young Life from about 2012 to 2015. Then, in 2017, he joined the Proud Boys.

He first landed on journalist and author David Neiwert's radar that same year, when Nordean attended a Patriot Prayer event in Portland that included members of the Proud Boys. Patriot Prayer is a far-right group that has held pro-gun, pro-Trump rallies in liberal cities in the Pacific Northwest and Northern California.

Neiwert said Nordean was clearly a leader of the Proud Boys contingent. He was equipped with an earpiece, and other members were deferring to him.

He didn't reach national prominence until 2018, when Nordean's penchant for violence "went viral." Another Patriot Prayer event in downtown Portland erupted in a massive street brawl, Neiwert recalled, and Nordean was a leading participant.

"He famously, or infamously, was videoed punching out an anti-fascist in pretty brutal and striking fashion," Neiwert said.

The video was picked up by Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes, who played the moment on a loop on his podcast.

"It went everywhere," Neiwert said of the footage. "It made Ethan very much a celebrity among the Proud Boys. And so, even though he was already kind of a leader of the Northwest Proud Boys, that event really projected him up to the top of the leadership nationally."

He went on to be named among nine "elders" after McInnes resigned.

Then, on Jan. 4, 2021, Proud Boys Chairman Henry "Enrique" Tarrio was arrested when he arrived in Washington, D.C., to prepare for Jan. 6. One of the men tapped to take over his "generalship powers" was Nordean. Tarrio was picked up on a warrant charging him with burning a Black Lives Matter flag taken from a historic Black church during a demonstration in December 2019.

"[Nordean] and Joe Biggs, who was also one of the key ringleaders, were the two, basically, put in charge of the Proud Boys that day," Neiwert said.

Nordean was arrested in February 2021.

Mike Nordean, Ethan Nordean’s father and the owner of a business in Des Moines, Washington, posted an online statement following the arrest: “My son, Ethan, was arrested on February 3rd for his involvement in the Capitol siege. We have tried for a long while to get our son off the path which led to his arrest today - to no avail. Ethan will be held accountable for his actions.”

What does this sentence mean for the Proud Boys?

Whether the decades-long sentences doled out to insurrectionist like Nordean and Tarrio will actually slow groups like the Proud Boys is yet to be seen. Neiwert is skeptical.

"People all join these movements for a variety of, mostly, personal reasons," he said of those attracted to the Proud Boys and other far-right groups. "They have insecurities and fears and things that make them angry that drive them toward these movements. The behavior of others within it can have a sort of salutary effect, but it's not very deep."

Most of Nordean's fellow Proud Boys will likely "keep doing what they're doing."

While Nordean expressed remorse for his actions in court Friday, he has also encouraged the group to push forward.

After the attack on the Capitol, Nordean lashed out against Trump in a Proud Boys chat on Telegram that was recounted in Neiwert's "The Age of Insurrection: The Radical Right's Assault on American Democracy." He did not, however, disavow the movement.

“This is a very fragile time for the club, but we must be more vigilant than ever, not just for those that look up to us in the club,” Nordean wrote in the chat. “We are on the brink of absolute war.”

Nordean urged the Proud Boys to regroup, continue recruiting and focus on local issues. Neiwert said he effectively spelled out the strategy the group has deployed in the wake of Jan. 6.