Longview man ‘set to plead guilty’ to federal charges in Capitol riot case

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A Longview man federally charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot is set to plead guilty as part of a plea agreement in November. Ryan Nichols, 32, has rejected previous plea deal offers from government prosecutors, and is accused of several crimes stemming from the riot ranging from civil disorder to assaulting federal officers. In a motion filed by the defense, it said “Mr. Nichols is set to plead guilty in this Court sometime around the trial date.” A plea agreement hearing has been set for Nov. 7. The government said in a previous court filing they had planned to present evidence in a trial focusing on “the defendant’s own words.”

Nichols and his co-defendant Alex Harkrider were arrested after officials with the Department of Justice reported they had been planning to storm the Capitol for weeks and posted about the riot several times to social media. In a later filing, Nichols claimed his involvement was influenced by social media.

Nichols was granted pre-trial release in November 2022 “strictly for the purpose of preparing for trial” and was ordered to submit to ankle monitoring. He is set to appear for his plea agreement hearing in two weeks in a Washington, D.C. courtroom.