Auburn-area Proud Boy, convicted seditious conspirator asks for light sentence

Ethan Nordean's attorneys want him to serve less than two years behind bars for his actions during the U.S. Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.

They're asking for a sentence of 15 to 21 months; the government, according to Nordeans' attorneys, is asking for 324 to 405 months.

Nordean has been convicted of seditious conspiracy, among other federal charges, along with four other members of the Proud Boys. Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio was among them, though Tarrio was arrested two days before the insurrection. That left Nordean to lead rioters on the day of the attack.

That's not how Nordean's sentencing memorandum, filed on Wednesday, describes it.

Rather, his attorneys argue "the government cannot distinguish his conduct from that of hundreds of parading and demonstrating protesters — on a factual plane."

In fact, Nordean's attorneys wrote, "in many instances, the conduct of misdemeanants was more disruptive than Nordean’s."