Jan. 6 defendants in WA released from prison after mass pardon

Federal prison records confirm at least five Washington men were released from custody Monday night after President Donald Trump issued sweeping pardons and sentence commutations for the hundreds of people charged with crimes related to the U.S. Capitol siege on Jan. 6, 2021.

Those men are:

• Ethan Nordean, 34, of Auburn
• Taylor Johnatakis, 41, of Kingston
• Tucker Weston, 36, of Lynnwood
• Benjamin Silva, 37, of Yacolt, Clark County
• Marc Anthony Bru, 45, of Vancouver, Wash.

They are among about 30 people with ties to Washington, and roughly 1,500 across the nation, who were charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack and had their cases dropped as a result of the mass pardon.

Daniel Ball, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, which prosecuted all of the Jan. 6 cases, said in a statement that the office is carrying out Trump’s order to release defendants. All people who were sentenced in federal court and in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons have been released, Ball said.

In cases where people awaiting trial or sentencing were in the custody of U.S. Marshals, the D.C. office has filed motions to vacate and dismiss their pending cases. Once a federal judge grants the motions, the U.S. Marshals Service will execute the pardon by arranging for each defendant to return to the jurisdiction where they were originally arrested.

The U.S. presidential pardon grants legal forgiveness, ends any further punishment and restores rights such as being able to vote, run for public office and own a firearm.

Sentences commuted

Nordean received the longest sentence of all Washington defendants. A prosecutor described Nordean, a prominent member of a far-right group called the Proud Boys, as the “undisputed leader on the ground on Jan. 6” leading a crowd to the Capitol. Nordean was sentenced to 18 years in prison and served nearly four years in custody.

Johnatakis, who was sentenced to over seven years in prison, used a megaphone to orchestrate the mob’s movements and the attack on police officers. He was found guilty of seven charges, including civil disorder and assaulting, resisting or impeding officers.

Weston traveled to D.C. with his roommate for the “Stop the Steal” rally. He was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison after prosecutors said he removed a metal barricade on Capitol grounds and repeatedly shoved police officers using a bike rack. He also took part in kicking and smashing the equipment of media covering the riot.

Silva was serving a four-month prison sentence in California after pleading guilty to a felony charge of civil disorder. Court documents say Silva took part in the “heave-ho” effort against the police line guarding a door into the Capitol.

Bru, another Proud Boys member, was sentenced to over six years in prison. Prosecutors accused him of harassing Capitol police, pushing them and later trying to organize an insurrection against the government in Portland. During his sentencing hearing, Bru said, “You could give me 100 years and I would still do it all over again.”

Trials dismissed

Two Washington men who were awaiting trial on a litany of charges for their actions on Jan. 6 have had their cases dismissed with prejudice — meaning their cases cannot be reopened. Richard Slaughter from Orting and his stepson Caden Paul Gottfried from Puyallup had been charged with resisting, assaulting or impeding law enforcement officers at the Capitol. A federal judge dismissed the counts Tuesday.

Prosecutors alleged Slaughter used a pole to hit officers in front of the Capitol’s lower west terrace tunnel, and Gottfried pushed the line of officers trying to block people from breaking into the building. Slaughter resigned from his position on the Orting School Board shortly after he was arrested.

A Pasco man and former Franklin County Republican Party official was awaiting a trial set to start in May for his role in the Capitol siege. Taylor Taranto, who was arrested in 2023 near former President Barack Obama’s home with weapons and material to make an explosive, was in pretrial detention. It was not clearfrom court records Wednesday if he was released due to the pardon order.He has also been sued by the widow of a D.C. metropolitan officer who Taranto allegedly attacked. The officer died by suicide days later.

On Wednesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that House Republicans would establish a new subcommittee to “counter false narratives” about Jan. 6, another step in Trump’s party’s attempts to rewrite history.

Trump has portrayed the rioters as “political prisoners” and “hostages” who were unfairly prosecuted by a “politicized” Department of Justice.

Proud Boys member Enrique Tarrio, for whom Nordean was a lieutenant, said to conspiracy theorist Alex Jones after getting out of prison: “Success is going to be retribution.”