Jan. 6 conviction to be vacated for WA Proud Boy known as ‘Rufio'
In an unopposed motion filed Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice moved to vacate the convictions of a Washington man who participated in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6 and was convicted of seditious conspiracy.
Ethan Nordean, an Auburn man and member of the far-right extremist group the Proud Boys, was sentenced to 18 years in federal prison in 2023 after a jury convicted him of seditious conspiracy, obstructing Congress' certification of Joe Biden's election victory and obstructing law enforcement.
Nordean led the mob to the Capitol in 2021 and was released from prison after President Donald Trump issued a sweeping order pardoning and commuting the sentences of rioters hours into his presidency in 2025.
Nordean's conviction will be vacated alongside three other prominent defendants: Joseph Biggs, Zachary Rehl and Dominic Pezzola. Nordean's sentence was among the longest dished out to Jan. 6 rioters: Then-Attorney General Merrick Garland said after Nordean's conviction that he played a central role" in the attack.
A court indictment stated that Nordean created a crowdfunding campaign to buy protective gear and radios used by rioters on Jan. 6 and detailed allegations that he led Proud Boys members from the Washington Monument to storm the Capitol. Charging documents identified Nordean, a bodybuilder, as the self-described "Sergeant of Arms" of the Seattle chapter of the Proud Boys. He went by the alias "Rufio Panman."
In the unopposed motion filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Lenerz wrote a dismissal "is in the interests of justice" due to Trump's commutation of their sentences.
When reached by phone on Wednesday, Nordean's attorney Nicholas D. Smith said he and his client declined to comment.
The motion asks the court to dismiss the defendant's indictments with prejudice - meaning they could not be prosecuted again for their actions on Jan. 6.
Pardoned rioters, their allies and some Trump officials expressed glee this week on the social media platform X.
On X, another Proud Boy leader and pardoned defendant, Enrique Tarrio, posted photos of himself with Nordean and other pardoned men. The photos were captioned: "This Brotherhood is forever ... History books will be written with our names." One of Nordean's co-defendants, Rehl, posted a screenshot of the motion and wrote that "it appears this chapter is finally over."
In a post, the Department of Justice said the motion "ends these years-long, Biden-era weaponized prosecutions."
"President Trump demanded we stop the two-tiered injustice - and we are delivering. No more rigged system," the post said.
Several deaths were connected to the storming of the Capitol, including Ashli Babbitt, who was shot to death as she forced her way into the halls of Congress; four police officers who died by suicide in the days that followed; and a fifth officer who was sprayed by an irritant during the riot and died from a stroke hours later.
When sentenced in 2023, Nordean expressed remorse about his participation on Jan. 6.
"There is no rally or political protest that should hold value over human life," he said at the time in court. "To anyone who I directly or even indirectly wronged, I'm sorry."
Last year, Nordean joined a $100 million lawsuit filed by several participants in the attack against the Department of Justice, alleging the government's prosecution of them violated their constitutional rights. This month, a U.S. District Court judge ordered they refile their lawsuit because the original complaint did not specify or adequately explain allegations.
U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., called the Department of Justice's motion an "appalling and dangerous turn of events."
"The Department of Justice is now acting like in-house counsel for the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys, Raskin's statement said.
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