Longview man charged in Jan. 6 Capitol riot requests pre-trial release

WASHINGTON, D.C. – An East Texas man in jail for participation in the riot on Capitol Hill has asked for a pre-trial release. According to our news partner KETK, Ryan Nichols has been charged with several crimes, including an ‘act of violence in the Capitol’. In a court filing dated Nov. 1, he asked to be released on a personal recognizance. According to the filing, Nichols “categorically denies each charge and is eager to prove his innocence at trial.” He is being tried alongside Alex Harkrider, who was released on bond in April.

The request for release, filed by New York-based attorney Joseph D. McBride, said that Nichols “is an excellent candidate for pretrial release.” The filing said that pretrial detainees are more entitled to considerate treatment because they are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Nichols has been detained for 280 days. The filing claimed that Nichols has not been able to visit with his children over video call in almost six months, saying this is psychologically damaging to him and his family. In addition to that, the filing said that Nichols is a Marine veteran with PTSD, which is a pre-existing condition that they say is being worsened by his confinement in a DC jail.

If his request for personal recognizance is denied, he requests that he be released on Third Party Custody and placed into the High Intensive Supervision Program of the Pretrial Services Agency with reasonable conditions including electronic monitoring, work release and curfew.