DOJ Seeks 4-Year Prison Sentence For Hawaii Proud Boys Founder

WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors have asked a judge in Washington, D.C., to sentence Nicholas Ochs, the founder of the Hawaii chapter of the Proud Boys, to 51 months in prison for his part in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Ochs, 36, pleaded guilty in September to one count of obstruction of an official proceeding for his part in trying to delay the certification of the 2020 presidential election won by Joe Biden.

According to the U.S. Justice Department, Ochs and a co-defendant, Nicholas DeCarlo, 32, of Fort Worth, Texas, marched on the Capitol with other supporters of former President Donald Trump to protest the election results.

The duo overran police barricades, threw smoke bombs at officers, lit up cigarettes in the Capitol rotunda and posed together for photos in front of a door scrawled with the words, “Murder the Media,” which was the name of their right-wing social media platform.

“These were no teenage pranks,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexis Loeb wrote in a 49-page sentencing memo filed Friday in federal court. “Ochs’ conduct targeted the police and Congress – and like the conduct of every rioter that day, threatened democracy itself.

“By attempting to inject humor and a carnival atmosphere into the breach (a breach that had staffers hiding under desks and officers fearing for their lives), Ochs created an environment that downplayed the threat, normalized violence, and encouraged the rampant lawlessness that unfolded at the Capitol.”

Ochs and DeCarlo are expected to file their responses to the government’s sentencing request on Tuesday.

Prosecutors have asked DeCarlo, who has ties to the Proud Boys, to serve 48 months in prison for his part in the riot.

Ochs is a former Marine who attended college at the University of Hawaii. In 2020, he ran for the state House of Representatives as a Republican and lost badly in the general election after winning the primary.

He has said he was working as a journalist when the pro-Trump mob attacked the Capitol building, but prosecutors have presented reams of evidence to undercut that defense and highlight what they’ve described as a coordinated campaign by the Proud Boys to undermine Congress’ counting of electoral college votes.

The DOJ sentencing memo describes Ochs as a “Proud Boys Elder,” meaning he’s among the highest ranking members in the extremist organization.

Leading up to the Jan. 6 attack, prosecutors say, Ochs was part of several group chats on encrypted messaging applications, including one dubbed the “Official Presidents’ Chat” and another named “Skull and Bones,” where he communicated directly with Proud Boys leaders Enrique Tarrio and Ethan Nordean. Tarrio and Nordean were charged with seditious conspiracy for their roles in the attempted insurrection.

According to the DOJ, the messages show…