Ryan Taylor Nichols

Case Summary

It was just a couple of years ago that Ryan Nichols appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show after a video of him rescuing animals after Hurricane Florence went viral. Nichols was also mentioned in an NPR piece for his rescues at the time. Now, the U.S. Marine veteran is facing multiple charges for participating in the Capitol riot. According to court documents, photographs and video of Nichols allegedly show him standing on the ledge of a broken window at the Capitol building holding a bullhorn and crowbar, yelling into a bullhorn at the crowd, "If you have a weapon, you need to get your weapon!" and also yelling, "This is the second revolution right here folks! ... This is not a peaceful protest." At one point, Nichols allegedly took a large aerosol canister from someone in the crowd and spraying an unknown substance in the direction of the entrance, where officers were trying to hold back the mob. According to court documents, Nichols openly talked about his plans to travel to Washington on Facebook ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. "By Bullet or Ballot, Restoration of the Republic is Coming," he said in one post on Dec. 24, 2020. A few days later, Nichols posted, "Pence better do the right thing, or we're going to MAKE you do the right thing." A spokesperson from the U.S. Marine Corps confirmed that he served as a Marine from 2010-2014.

Case History

Nichols pleaded Guilty to the two charges. Sentenced on 5/2/2024 to 63 months incarceration; 36 months of supervised release; fine of $200,000; restitution of $2,000; special assessment of $200. Nichols 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
• Supporting Reporting
  NPR video evidence pageNPR

Case summary, charges, procedural updates and image are drawn from the NPR Jan. 6 archive snapshot dated 2026-09-25 unless otherwise indicated.