Ethan Nordean, a prominent former leader of the Proud Boys, was sentenced to 18 years in prison on Friday for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot after he foreshadowed in 2021 that he would be “facing jail time cuz [he] followed” former President Donald Trump.
Nordean tied Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes with the record for the longest sentence for helping to organize and lead a group of about 200 to breach the Capitol building.
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Nordean wrote on Jan. 20, 2021, in a Telegram message that prosecutors filed in court as evidence later that year that he blamed the former president for what he anticipated would be a prison sentence:
“Alright I’m gunna say it. F*** TRUMP! F*** him more than Biden. I’ve followed this guy for 4 years and given everything and lost it all. Yes he woke us up, but he led us to believe some great justice was upon us … and it never happened, now I’ve got some of my good friends and myself facing jail time cuz we followed this guys lead and never questioned it. We are now and always have been on our own. So glad he was able to pardon a bunch of degenerates as his last move and s*** on us on the way out. F*** you trump you left us on [t]he battlefield bloody and alone.”
Three of Nordean’s co-defendants also received some of the heftiest sentences this week — spanning 10 to 17 years — of the roughly 600 handed out so far in connection with the riot. A fifth and final co-defendant, Enrique Tarrio, is expected to receive a similarly lengthy sentence next week.
All held leadership roles within the Proud Boys, and four of the five of them, including Nordean, were convicted in May of a rare Civil War-era seditious conspiracy charge, in addition to several other charges. Nordean expressed remorse for his actions on the day of his trial.
Dominic Pezzola, the only co-defendant to be acquitted of seditious conspiracy, was still also convicted of several others and sentenced to 10 years on Friday.
Pezzola took a police shield from an officer and used it to break open a Capitol window, enabling a significant breach for a crowd around him.
While some of those receiving the longest sentences, such as Nordean and Rhodes, soured on Trump in the aftermath of 2020, Pezzola appeared to have a different stance.
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After receiving his sentence, an NBC reporter observed that he shouted minutes later, “Trump won!” with his fist in the air as he was led away in his orange prison jumpsuit to continue serving time behind bars.
One day prior, his co-defendants Joseph Biggs and Zachary Rehl received 17 years and 15 years, respectively.
