Jan. 6 defendant dubbed 'Conan O'Riot' gets prison time for role in Capitol attack
A Jan. 6 defendant dubbed "Conan O'Riot" for his resemblance to comedian Conan O'Brien was sentenced this week to 75 days in federal prison for his role in the U.S.
WASHINGTON — A Jan. 6 defendant dubbed "Conan O'Riot" for his resemblance to comedian Conan O'Brien was sentenced this week to 75 days in federal prison for his role in the U.S. Capitol attack.
Derek Nelson, a former Marine, was arrested in October, over two years after he was first identified by online "sedition hunters" who have aided the FBI in hundreds of arrests of Jan. 6 defendants. Nelson pleaded guilty to a count of entering and remaining in a restricted building in March.
Federal prosecutors had sought six months in prison for the Nelson, 31, who entered the Capitol alongside his friend and fellow former Marine Derek Dodder, who told federal authorities that Nelson wore his Revolutionary War costume to be a “rabble rouser.”
The duo bought respirators from a local hardware store and were part of the breach of police lines, with Nelson grabbing one officer's shield and trying to body-check another and then helping a fellow rioter pick the shield up after the officer dropped it. In one video from Jan. 6, 2021, Nelson told a videographer he was in Washington “to start a revolution.”
Derek Nelson at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia“Who do they work for?” Nelson yelled inside the Capitol while pumping his fist into the air. “Us!”
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