WA Proud Boy convicted in Jan. 6 riot at U.S. Capitol

An Auburn man and prominent member of the Proud Boys far-right extremist group, who led a pro-Trump mob to the U.S. Capitol just before it was breached Jan. 6, 2021, has been convicted of a rare count of seditious conspiracy and other federal charges.

Ethan Nordean, known in right-wing circles by his alias, Rufio Panman, was convicted Thursday of seditious conspiracy, obstructing Congress’ certification of now-President Joe Biden’s electoral victory and obstructing law enforcement, as well as two other conspiracy charges.

The charge of seditious conspiracy, which involves a plan to overthrow the government, is rarely applied in criminal cases and carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. It was initially enacted to prosecute southerners who continued to fight after the Confederacy surrendered the Civil War.

Nordean, 32, was convicted of the charge alongside former Proud Boys national leader Enrique Tarrio, of Florida, and two other men, Joseph Biggs, of Florida, and Zachary Rehl of Pennsylvania.

In convicting the men, the jury found Nordean and the others “conspired to oppose the lawful transfer of presidential powers by force” through their involvement in the so-called “Stop the Steal” movement, in which supporters of former President Donald Trump claimed Joe Biden was fraudulently elected president in 2020.

District of Columbia federal prosecutors have charged at least 15 Washington residents in connection with the insurrection. Nordean is the highest-profile among them, having risen with the organization’s ranks to gain the trust of Tarrio and other national Proud Boys figures.

Nordean was arrested in 2021 after a grand jury issued an indictment against him, the others convicted of seditious conspiracy. He has been incarcerated since, first in SeaTac and later at the federal detention facility in the District of Columbia.