WASHINGTON — Ryan Nichols, a Jan. 6 rioter who posted a video in which he raised a crowbar and confessed in the third person to fighting law enforcement at the U.S. Capitol, pleaded guilty to two federal felonies Tuesday.
“So if you want to know where Ryan Nichols stands, Ryan Nichols stands for violence,” he said in one video cited by prosecutors, which he filmed after taking part in the Jan. 6 attack.
In another video, filmed before he took part in the attack, Nichols said that the mob would lynch elected officials who voted to certify Joe Biden’s presidential victory.
“This is the second f---ing revolution!” Nichols said. “Ryan Nichols said it, if you voted for f---ing treason we’re going to drag your f---ing a-- through the streets.”
Nichols, represented by attorney and vocal Donald Trump supporter Joseph McBride, admitted in federal court Tuesday that he was guilty of one felony count of obstruction of an official proceeding and one felony count of assaulting officers performing their duties. Video shows Nichols spraying officers inside the lower west tunnel with a chemical weapon.
U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth accepted the plea from Nichols and then remanded him into government custody. Nichols had previously been held in pretrial detention but was released last year to allow him to prepare for trial.
Nichols, arguing to remain on release, told Lamberth that he took responsibility for his actions, saying he failed to "use common sense" in the lead-up to Jan. 6.
"I am the person to blame for what happened that day," he said, saying he'd betrayed his duty to his country and his family.
Nichols said he "got caught up in the 'Stop the Steal' movement, which was a bad choice" and that he feels like he's "completely changed" since the attack. "I am very sorry for my actions that day," he said. Lamberth ordered him taken into custody while he awaits sentencing, and Nichols was led out of the courtroom after taking off his belt and suit jacket.
Nichols, who appeared on "Ellen" in 2018 for rescuing dogs during Hurricane Florence in North Carolina, was charged alongside Alex Harkrider, who has pleaded not guilty and is still scheduled to go to trial.
Nichols extensively documented his activities on Jan. 6, including filming one video cited by prosecutors that amounted to a confession of his actions at the Capitol.
“So, yes, today, Ryan Nichols, Ryan Nichols grabbed his f---ing weapon and he stormed the Capitol, and he fought! For freedom!” he said while holding a crowbar. “For elegrity— uh— intention— uh— election integrity, I fought!"
After his arrest, Nichols and another accused rioter claimed that pretrial detainees at the Washington, D.C., jail were being "force fed CRT (critical race theory) propaganda on tablets,” as well as “reeducation propaganda” and “anti-white racial messaging."
About 1,200 defendants have been arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. Online sleuths who go by the name "Sedition Hunters" and have aided in hundreds of cases against Jan. 6 rioters, say about 1,000 additional Jan. 6 participants who either entered the Capitol on Jan. 6 or engaged in violence or property destruction outside have been identified but not arrested. The statute of limitations on most Jan. 6 offenses expires in a bit over two years, in early 2026.
