Longview man pleads guilty to Capitol riot charges

LONGVIEW — The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced that a Longview man pleaded guilty to two felony charges brought after he attended the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. According to our news partner KETK, Ryan Taylor Nichols, 32, of Longview, plead guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding and assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers, according to a press release. U.S. District Judge Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth has reportedly accepted the plea and Nichols has been remanded into custody of law enforcement. The plea agreement hearing took place Nov. 7. Nichols had rejected previous plea deal offers from government prosecutors.

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.