Proud Boy leader was just hit with the longest Jan. 6 sentence yet

Ethan Nordean, a high-ranking figure in the far-right Proud Boys, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison, reported Brandi Buchman.

Nordean, a.k.a. Rufio Panman, was convicted of seditious conspiracy for his role in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. He led a group of Proud Boys to the Capitol and joined fellow leader Joe Biggs in knocking down fencing at the Capitol complex. Raw Story previously reported on Nordean and other rioters.

Biggs himself was sentenced to 17 years earlier this week.

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The trial process for Nordean was fraught, as DOJ prosecutors were alarmed by a sudden influx of cash he received while awaiting his court date. Nordean demanded full freedom of movement pending trial last year, which prompted prosecutors to remind the court of an extensive list of his efforts to delay the trial.

The Proud Boys are a self-styled "Western Chauvinist" group infamous for street-brawling tactics. They were one of the more organized groups to have attacked the Capitol on January 6.

More than 1,000 people have been arrested or convicted so far in connection with the attack. Nordean's sentence is tied for the longest of any participant; Stewart Rhodes, leader of the militia group the Oath Keepers, also received 18 years earlier this year, also from a seditious conspiracy conviction, according to court records.