A federal judge has ordered two leaders of the far-right Proud Boys extremist group to be arrested and jailed while awaiting trial on charges they planned and coordinated an attack on the U.S. Capitol to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s electoral victory.
Joseph Biggs and Ethan Nordean had been free since their March 10 indictment, but U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly concluded Monday that the two men are dangerous and won’t abide by release conditions.
The judge says Biggs and Nordean “facilitated political violence” even if they weren’t armed and didn’t assault anybody at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
30-year-old Nordean is from Auburn, Washington, and has been a Proud Boys chapter president. Biggs, who is 37 and lives in Florida, describes himself as a Proud Boys organizer.