Jan. 6 defendant dubbed 'Conan O'Riot' by online sleuths pleads guilty
Derek Nelson, a former Marine with a resemblance to celebrity Conan O'Brien, “came to D.C. prepared for the possibility of violence," he wrote in his plea agreement.
WASHINGTON — A colonial-clad Capitol rioter — dubbed "Conan O'Riot" because of his resemblance to former late night talk show host Conan O'Brien — pleaded guilty to a Jan. 6 charge Tuesday.
Derek Nelson, 30, a former Marine, was arrested in Illinois in October, more than two years after he was identified by online "sedition hunters" who have aided the FBI in cases against hundreds of defendants.
Nelson pleaded guilty to a count of entering and remaining in a restricted building, which carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison. U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols accepted Nelson's guilty plea and set his sentencing hearing for June 13.
Derek Nelson at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of ColumbiaAs part of his plea agreement, Nelson said that he "wore a colonial blue peacoat with gold buttons, a tricorn hat, a red shirt, a white neckscarf, black-and-red gloves, and khaki pants" on Jan. 6 and "had also brought with him a pink respirator and goggles, which he later donned." Nelson also admitted that he "came to D.C. prepared for the possibility of violence."
He added that before he stormed the Capitol he told someone he was there to "start a revolution."
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