Record at a Glance
- Category
- Jan 6th
- Age in NPR record
- 39
- Location
- Oakhurst, California
- Charges
- Civil Disorder; Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers; Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Engaging in Physical Violence in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building; Act of Physical Violence in the Capitol Grounds or Buildings; Parading, Demonstrating or Picketing in a Capitol Building
- Case status
- Pleaded guilty; Dismissed in part or full; Sentenced
- Presidential action
- Pardon
Case Summary
Publicly available videos show Ricky Christopher Willden cheering at the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021 near the east door around 2:30 in the afternoon, wearing a dark jacket, beanie cap and gloves, according to court documents. About10 minutes later, he can be seen raising his hand and spraying an unknown substance from a green can toward police officers standing guard. According to the FBI, Willden is a self-proclaimed member of the far right-extremist group The Proud Boys, whose members describe themselves as "Western Chauvinists."
Case History
Willden pleaded Guilty to one charge: Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers. The other charges are dismissed. Sentenced 8/5/2022 to 24 months incarceration; three years of supervised release, $2,000 restitution; $100 special assessment. Willden 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.