Proud Boy Jan. 6 defendant who shot at law enforcement is sentenced to prison

A member of the Proud Boys who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and shot at law enforcement officers this year after the FBI asked him to surrender was sentenced to two years in federal prison Wednesday.

Nathan Pelham, of Texas, pleaded guilty to a federal felony charge of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade of the Northern District of Texas imposed the sentence, according to court records.

An FBI special agent had said Pelham was informed of the Capitol attack charges on April 12. Federal court records show that Pelham's case was not initially placed under seal, as criminal cases almost always are until law enforcement executes an arrest.

Local authorities went to Pelham’s home that night after his father requested a welfare check, according to the filing. Pelham fired several shots toward the law enforcement officials, the FBI special agent said, and one of the officers said a shot “came in so close proximity to myself that I could hear the distinct whistling sound as the bullet traveled by me and then strike a metal object to my right side.”