Proud Boys member with local ties to be transferred to D.C. to face charges

A federal judge orders Ethan Nordean to District of Columbia court related to Capitol riots

By Steve Hunter • February 8, 2021 2:32 pm
The U.S. Department of Justice released a photo of Ethan Nordean, circled in red, during the Jan. 6 Capitol riots in Washington, D.C. COURTESY PHOTO, U.S. Department of Justice
The U.S. Department of Justice released a photo of Ethan Nordean, circled in red, during the Jan. 6 Capitol riots in Washington, D.C. COURTESY PHOTO, U.S. Department of Justice

Ethan Nordean, a member of the Proud Boys with ties to Auburn and Des Moines, will be transferred to the District of Columbia from Seattle for further proceedings in the complaint against him for obstructing or impeding an official proceeding related to the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol.

Chief Judge Beryl Howell for U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ordered Nordean on Monday, Feb. 8 to be transferred from the Western District of Washington by the U.S. Marshals Service, according to court documents. On Monday, Nordean remained in the federal prison in SeaTac. For security reasons, the Marshals Service doesn’t release specifics about the date of the transfer.

Federal prosecutors charged Nordean Feb. 3 with obstructing or impeding an official proceeding, aiding and abetting and knowingly entering or remaining in restricted building or grounds and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, according to a Feb. 3 U.S. Department of Justice news release. If convicted as charged, Nordean could face about 30 years in prison.

Nordean, 30, aka Rufio Panman, is from Auburn, according to several media reports. He is the son of Mike Nordean, owner of Wally’s Chowder House in Des Moines and Wally’s Drive-In in Buckley.

According to charging documents, Nordean is the self-described “Sergeant of Arms” of the Seattle Chapter of the Proud Boys, a group self-described as a “pro-Western fraternal organization for men who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world; aka Western Chauvinists.”

It is alleged that Nordean was observed marching at the front of a group of known Proud Boys shortly before the riot began. It is further alleged that Nordean was among those who entered the U.S. Capitol building after rioters, including certain persons associated with the Proud Boys, forced entry into the Capitol by means of destruction of federal property. It is also alleged that Nordean was near the front of the crowd of rioters, who collectively approached, confronted and vastly outnumbered Capitol Police.