Record at a Glance
- Category
- Jan 6th
- Age in NPR record
- 22
- Location
- Savoy, Texas
- Charges
- Civil Disorder
- Case status
- Pleaded guilty; Sentenced
- Presidential action
- Pardon
Case Summary
Nolan Cooke told police that he went to the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, because he wanted to be heard. Photographs of him, with long brown hair and wearing a Trump hat, were posted on Instagram. One reads: “I wouldn’t want anyone other than you with me to take on the revolution.” It was followed by a heart and a kiss emoji. The FBI confirmed that Cooke is the person in the photographs. Cooke voluntarily agreed to be interviewed by law enforcement in Texas and said that he drove to Washington on Jan. 5 with a relative and his girlfriend after seeing a posting on Twitter for a Trump rally there on Jan. 6. Cooke told officials that he had brought several firearms with him on the trip but that he left the weapons in the car. Cooke said he was at the front of the crowd and pushed past police officers to get to the Capitol building and used a flagpole to bang on a window, but he denied that he went inside.
Case History
Cooke pleaded Guilty to the single charge: Civil Disorder. Sentenced 6/10/2022 to 12 months and 1 day incarceration; 3 years supervised release; $2,000 in restitution; $100 special assessment. Cooke received a full pardon on January 20, 2025
Sources
- Primary Documentation
NPR Jan. 6 Defendant DatabaseNPR - Primary Documentation
Underlying court recordCourt record linked by NPR
Case summary, charges, procedural updates and image are drawn from the NPR Jan. 6 archive snapshot dated 2026-09-25 unless otherwise indicated.