A federal judge on Monday ordered two leaders of the far-right extremist group the Proud Boys to be arrested and jailed while awaiting trial on charges that they planned and co-ordinated an attack on the US Capitol.
The charges allege they were trying to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s electoral victory.
Joseph Biggs and Ethan Nordean had been free since their March 10 indictment, but US District Judge Timothy Kelly concluded that the two men are dangerous and no conditions for their release could be adequate.
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An explosion caused by a police munition is seen while supporters of former president Donald Trump gather in front of the US Capitol Building in Washington, US, January 6, 2021. Reuters -
A supporter of US President Donald J. Trump sits on the desk of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, after supporters of US President Donald J. Trump breached the US Capitol security in Washington. EPA -
Police detain a person as supporters of US President Donald Trump protest outside the US Capitol. AFP -
Protesters enter the US Capitol Building. AFP -
A protester holds a Trump flag inside the US Capitol Building near the Senate Chamber. AFP -
US Capitol police officers point their guns at a door that was vandalized in the House Chamber during a joint session of Congress. AFP -
Members of congress run for cover as protesters try to enter the House Chamber during a joint session of Congress. AFP -
Congress staffers barricade themselves after Trump supporters stormed inside the US Capitol. AFP -
Congress staffers barricade themselves after Trump supporters stormed inside the US Capitol. AFP -
Congress staffers hold up their hands while Capitol Police Swat teams check everyone in the room as they secure the floor of Trump supporters. AFP -
US Capitol Police stand detain protesters outside of the House Chamber during a joint session of Congress. AFP -
A supporter of US President Donald Trump sits at a desk after invading the Capitol Building. AFP -
A protester sits in the Senate Chamber. AFP -
Pro-Trump protesters tear down a barricade as they clash with Capitol police during a rally to contest the certification of the 2020 US presidential election results by the US Congress. Reuters -
Police hold back supporters of US President Donald Trump as they gather outside the US Capitol's Rotunda. AFP -
Supporters of US President Donald Trump enter the US Capitol's Rotunda. AFP -
A protester is seen hanging from the balcony in the Senate Chamber. AFP -
Riot police prepare to move demonstrators away from the US Capitol. AFP -
Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they storm the US Capitol. AFP -
Trump supporters clash with police and security forces, as they storm the US Capitol. AFP -
A supporter of US President Donald Trump wears a gas mask as he protests after storming the US Capitol. AFP -
Pro-Trump supporters storm the US Capitol following a rally. AFP -
Supporters of US President Donald Trump protest inside the US Capitol. AFP -
US President Donald Trump is seen on TV from a video message released on Twitter addressing rioters at the US Capitol, in the Brady Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, DC. AFP -
Trump supporters clash with police and security forces as they storm the US Capitol in Washington, DC. AFP -
Supporters of US President Donald Trump protest in the US Capitol Rotunda. AFP -
Paramedics perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on a patient. AFP -
A wounded protester is carried on barricade as demonstrators breach the US Capital building grounds. Bloomberg -
US Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi preside over a joint session of Congress to certify the 2020 Electoral College results after supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol earlier in the day on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. EPA -
Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., cleans up debris and personal belongings strewn across the floor of the Rotunda in the early morning hours of the morning, after protesters stormed the Capitol in Washington. AP
The judge said Mr Biggs and Mr Nordean “facilitated political violence” even if they weren’t armed and didn’t assault anyone at the Capitol.
Judge Kelly overruled another federal judge in Washington who had ordered pretrial home confinement for Mr Nordean. Mr Biggs was freed after his initial January 20 arrest in his home state of Florida.
Justice Department prosecutors initially didn’t seek to keep Mr Biggs jailed but last month asked for his pretrial release to be revoked, saying new evidence shows he poses a “grave danger” to the community.
Lawyers for Mr Biggs and Mr Nordean asked Mr Kelly to suspend Monday’s ruling pending a possible appeal, but the judge denied their request.
Mr Biggs and Mr Nordean are among more than two dozen people accused in the Capitol riot who have been described by federal authorities as Proud Boys leaders, members or associates.
Last month’s indictment charged Mr Biggs, Mr Nordean and two other men described as Proud Boys leaders with conspiring to impede Congress’s certification of the Electoral College vote. Other charges in the indictment include obstruction of an official proceeding, obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder and disorderly conduct.
Zachary Rehl and Charles Donohoe are charged in the same indictment as Mr Biggs and Mr Nordean and have been jailed since their arrests in March.
Police arrested the Proud Boys’ top leader, Enrique Tarrio, in Washington two days before the riot and charged him with vandalising a Black Lives Matter banner at a historic black church during a protest in December.
Mr Tarrio, who was ordered to stay out of the District of Columbia, has not been charged in connection with the Capitol siege.
Mr Nordean, 30, of Auburn, Washington, has been a Proud Boys chapter president and member of the group’s national “Elders Council.”
Mr Biggs, 37, of Ormond Beach, Florida, is a self-described Proud Boys organiser.
Mr Rehl, 35, of Philadelphia, and Mr Donohoe, 33, of Kernersville, North Carolina, serve as presidents of their local Proud Boys chapters, according to the indictment.
Proud Boys members describe themselves as a "politically incorrect" men’s club for “Western chauvinists".
Its members frequently have engaged in street fights with anti-fascist activists at rallies and protests.
On the morning of the riot, Mr Biggs and Mr Nordean met other Proud Boys members at the Washington Monument and led them on a march to the Capitol before then-president Donald Trump finished addressing thousands of supporters near the White House, the indictment says.
Around two hours later, right before Congress convened a joint session to certify the election results, Proud Boys members followed a crowd of people who breached barriers at a pedestrian entrance to the Capitol grounds, the indictment says. Several Proud Boys also entered the Capitol building itself after the mob smashed windows and forced open doors.
During a March 3 hearing, US District Judge Beryl Howell accused prosecutors of backtracking on their claims that Mr Nordean had instructed Proud Boys members to split up into smaller groups and directed a “strategic plan” to breach the Capitol.
However, Judge Howell concluded that Mr Nordean was extensively involved in “pre-planning” for the events of January 6 and that he and other Proud Boys “were clearly prepared for a violent confrontation” that day.
