Ethan Nordean

Activism In mid-2017, Nordean started attending rallies in Seattle and Portland, Oregon organized by the far right Patriot Prayer group. According to Dave Neiwert, a journalist and author who covers far right political groups, "He's particularly noteworthy for the extraordinary levels of thuggish violence he brings to these events". On June 30, 2018, Nordean and other members of the Proud Boys participated in a demonstration in Portland organized by Joey Gibson, founder of Patriot Prayer. Police declared the event a riot after violent street fighting broke out amid tensions between anti-fascist activists and Patriot Prayer supporters. Nordean was wearing shin guards on his forearms and deflected the baton, then punched the man in the face, knocking him to the ground unconscious. According to a police report, the counter-protester was hospitalized with a concussion.

The footage of the incident was used in recruiting videos for the Proud Boys that featured special effects and dramatic music. By October 2019, five of the most popular videos had over 1.5 million views on YouTube.

Shortly thereafter, Nordean was interviewed at length on The Alex Jones Show, with the video playing constantly in the background. Describing left-wing counter-protesters, Nordean told Jones and his audience that "these are no longer people who are necessarily Americans, per se, but they're kind of anti-American" and "you just have to eliminate them as a threat".

Joe Rogan discussed Nordean's role in the violent incident on his podcast, in a segment about antifa and street fighting.

Nordean set up a private Facebook page to vet the fighting abilities of Proud Boys recruits. Despite complaints in 2018, Facebook declined to take down that page.

Rise to Proud Boys leadership

Nordean was designated "Proud Boy of the Week" by the group's magazine.

In the years that followed, Nordean took a leading role as an organizer of Proud Boys events and rallies. Devin Burghart, president of the Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights, said, "He's been helping map the direction of the organization and recruiting members ... In no small part, he's been responsible for moving the group even more to the extreme far right and on a more violent path forward."

On December 27, 2020, Nordean posted on Parler, saying "Anyone looking to help us with safety/protective gear, or communications equipment it would be much appreciated, things have gotten more dangerous for us this past year, anything helps".

Participation in the 2021 Capitol attack

A video documentary produced by the Wall Street Journal showed that, on January 6, Nordean and fellow Proud Boys leader Joe Biggs from Florida commanded a mob of about 100 Proud Boys members and supporters who assembled east of the United States Capitol Building. A video livestreamer who is a member of the Proud Boys described Biggs and Nordean as "Two men on a mission, with about 500 behind them ready to kick some butt for the benefit of this country".

Prosecutors alleged Nordean was a chief organizer of a mob of about 100 Proud Boys

Arrest and aftermath According to prosecutors, on January 8, Nordean posted an image of a Capitol Police officer shooting pepper spray at rioters. The caption read, "If you feel bad for the police, you are part of the problem..." On February 3, Nordean was arrested and charged with four federal crimes, including obstructing an official proceeding, aiding and abetting injury to government property, disorderly conduct and knowingly and violently entering a restricted building. If convicted on all four charges, Nordean could be sentenced to up to 40 years in prison.

On March 3, 2021, Howell ordered Nordean released to home detention with GPS monitoring pending trial, finding that though he "indisputably participated" in the Capitol assault, the government's evidence of specific acts of violence and property damage was "weak." Before ruling, the judge noted that evidence clearly showed Nordean had been heavily involved in organizing the Proud Boys on January 6, 2021.

In April 2021, district judge Timothy J. Kelly revoked Nordean's pretrial release, returning him to jail. The judge cited an abundance of evidence for planned violence.

Prosecutors included in a May 2021 court filing a Telegram message Nordean had sent expressing a sense of betrayal, lamenting that Trump had pardoned "a bunch of degenerates as his last move and shit on us on the way out" and "now I've got some of my good friends and myself facing jail time we followed this lead and never questioned it."

Sentencing

Nordean told the judge, “the truth is, I did help lead a group of men back to the Capitol. There is no excuse for my actions, ignoring police commands, going past barricades, entering the Capitol. Adding myself to the dangerous situation was sorely irresponsible. I would like to take the time to apologize to anyone I wronged. There is no excuse for what I did. I would also like to apologize for my lack of leadership that day.”

Prosecutors called for a sentence of 27 years. Nordean was sentenced to 18 years in prison by Judge Timothy J. Kelly in September, 2023.

His father, Michael Nordean, owns and operates Wally's Chowder House restaurants in Des Moines and Buckley in Washington state; further, Ethan formerly worked in the family business. A dedicated bodybuilder, he also operated a now-defunct business in 2017 called Bangarang Elite Supplements that sold protein powder.

In June 2020, Nordean's father issued a statement calling his son's beliefs "misguided;" he reported that "Ethan no longer works for our restaurants." Following the storming of the Capitol and his son's arrest, he issued another statement that said, "We have tried for a long while to get our son off the path which led to his arrest today — to no avail. Ethan will be held accountable for his actions."