WASHINGTON D.C., DC — Days before Congress began its committee hearings into the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, the Justice Department announced a superseding indictment in the case of five members of the Proud Boys group, including Ethan Nordean of Auburn.
In this case, those charges included one count of seditious conspiracy and one count of conspiracy to prevent an officer from discharging any duties. Nordean now faces nine charges, according to the Justice Department.
Superseding indictments are common when prosecutors get more information, according to University of Washington School of Law Professor Mary Fan.
"The superseding indictment brings two additional charges, and it's pretty standard practice when prosecutors get additional information," said Fan, UW's Jack R. MacDonald endowed chair. "With additional cooperating witnesses, prosecutors may have the basis to file additional charges."
Opinion host Glenn Beck broadcast an interview this week he said was with Nordean, in which the interviewee said he was innocent.
KING 5 reached out to Nordean's attorneys as listed in court documents to verify the interview and those statements but did not hear back by air time.
Attorneys in the case filed for a change of venue Thursday, citing media-obsessive Washington, D.C. Requests like this one are not necessarily common but also aren't extraordinary, Fan said.
"It happens," Fan said. "It's not as every-day commonplace as superseding indictment may be or request for Brady material. It tends to happen in cases where there's been a lot of pretrial publicity and the defendants think they may not be able to get a free trial in that jurisdiction."