Trump Obsessed Jan 6 Rioter Found Guilty, Faces A Decade In Prison

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Nicholas Rodean, a 28-year-old man from Frederick, Maryland, who was one of the first few dozen rioters inside the Capitol building last year and was apparently in the group that chased Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman up multiple flights of stairs, was found guilty this week of seven criminal charges. The list includes one felony offense.

The felony is destruction of government property, which comes with up to 10 years in prison. The misdemeanors, which come with a combined total of up to four and a half years in prison, include entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a Capitol Building; engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in a Capitol Building; parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol Building; and committing an act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds of Capitol Building, according to a federal press release. The last charge might be meant to have said “committing an act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or Capitol Building.”

At the Capitol, Rodean participated in the destruction of a door to the building’s Senate wing and adjacent windows. Rodean personally broke two large panes of glass in one of the windows. In the assault, he used a flagpole and a “small round object,” the Justice Department says. Rodean subsequently entered the Capitol through one of the busted out window frames. The department indicates that once he was inside the building a Capitol Police officer eventually saw Rodean holding onto what seemed like a small cannonball — presumably the same item he used earlier in breaking the windows. Officers got Rodean to “put away” the object, the department says. Rodean later toted around a hatchet, which the officers also pushed him into putting away. Remarkably, Rodean was wearing an employee identification badge from where he was employed at the time of the riot while participating in the violence. Rodean’s then-employer later fired him.

At the Capitol, Rodean was photographed with high-profile mob participant Jacob Chansley, sometimes known as the “QAnon Shaman.” Rodean was convicted at a bench trial handled by federal Judge Trevor McFadden, meaning the judge — rather than a jury — decided the question of the defendant’s guilt. Goodman previously testified about his experiences at the Capitol at a different bench trial McFadden handled. That trial dealt with the actions of Kevin and Hunter Seefried, a father and son. The rioters who were among the first in the building appeared intent on finding members of Congress who were gathering that day to certify the results of the 2020 presidential race: “I’m not leaving. Where are the members at? Where are they counting the votes?” Kevin Seefried demanded of Goodman while holding a Confederate flag shortly after getting inside the Capitol, per the officer’s recollection, which he acknowledged may be faulty.

Although the Justice Department press release regarding Rodean doesn’t specify Goodman by name as the officer the defendant pursued, it notes Rodean “proceeded to a long hallway, known as the Ohio Clock corridor, outside of the floor of the Senate Chamber.” That’s precisely where Goodman led riot crowd participants as they pursued him soon after entering the Capitol building. Rodean is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge McFadden in October. He received plea offers from the government ahead of his trial but rejected them.