Texas Man Gets 63 Months for Assaulting Cops on Jan. 6

A Texas man was sentenced to prison today after he pleaded guilty to two felonies, including assaulting law enforcement officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol.

Ryan Taylor Nichols, 32, of Longview, Texas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth to 63 months in prison and 36 months of supervised release. Judge Lamberth also ordered Nichols to pay a fine of $200,000, restitution in the amount of $2,000, and a special assessment of $200.

Nichols pleaded guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers on Nov. 7, 2024, both felony offenses.

According to court documents, Nichols traveled from his home in Texas to Washington, D.C., with his friend and co-defendant, Alex Kirk Harkrider, based on their belief that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent.

Nichols and Harkrider exchanged text messages in the preceding days, planning and organizing the trip to D.C. In one message, Nichols sent Harkrider a photograph of body armor and pricing, stating that the body armor would protect against various bullets.

On the night of Jan. 5, 2021, Nichols and Harkrider attended a rally on the streets of Washington, D.C. At one point, Nichols shouted, “Cops don’t know what’s going on. Too many of us, not enough of them.” Later, Nichols shouted, “Those people in the f— Capitol building are our enemy.”

On the morning of Jan. 6, 2021, Nichols and Harkrider attended a rally in support of then-President Trump near the Ellipse and later marched toward the U.S. Capitol building. Nichols and Harkrider both wore body armor. Nichols was armed with a crowbar, and Harkrider was armed with a tactical tomahawk axe.

The two then arrived at the Capitol grounds and joined a large crowd of rioters gathered in front of an arched entrance to the Lower West Terrace doors, also known as the Tunnel. This was the site of some of the most violent assaults on law enforcement officers on January 6th.

At approximately 3:56 p.m., Nichols waved the crowd toward the Tunnel as both he and Harkrider pushed the crowd against the officers in synchronized movements, rocking back and forth as the crowd chanted, “Heave! Ho!”

At approximately 4:01 p.m., Nichols again called for the crowd to push forward, extended his palm, and beckoned with his fingers for a large red canister of O.C. or pepper spray that was being passed through the crowd.

Nichols took hold of the canister and delivered two streams of spray into the Tunnel, hitting multiple law enforcement officers.