KLAS by Greg Haas | September 27, 2021
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A Las Vegas man has entered a not guilty plea to charges related to the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6 in Washington, D.C.
Nathaniel “Nathan” DeGrave, 32, entered the pleas today after a superseding indictment in the case. He remains in federal custody awaiting a status conference scheduled for Oct. 21. Sandlin pleaded not guilty on Sept. 21.
DeGrave was arrested along with Ronald “Ronnie” Sandlin outside DeGrave’s apartment near the Las Vegas Strip on Jan. 27.
The two face federal charges that include conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding, and assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers, among other charges.
Sandlin previously said he is writing a book about his experience and hoped to turn it into a movie.
“I plan on having Leonardo DiCaprio play me :-),” Sandlin wrote. “I have so many stories to tell.”
Sandlin and DeGrave are accused of planning to interfere with the peaceful transition of presidential power, beginning in December 2020. On Dec. 23, 2020, Sandlin posted to Facebook asking who else was traveling to Washington. DeGrave replied that he was considering joining him, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
Josiah Colt, a third defendant who met Sandlin and DeGrave, has reached a plea agreement.
On the day of the riots, Sandlin, DeGrave and Colt met in a hotel room in Maryland and recorded video discussions for a social media audience, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In one video, Colt mentioned a “debate we’ve been having for days now: should we carry our guns or not?” DeGrave replied that “for the camera’s sake, we’re not going to carry.” Later that day and before the attack on the Capitol began, the defendants created a video in which Sandlin called on “fellow patriots” to watch his live stream on social media. In the video, he stated four times that “freedom is paid for with blood.” He also stated that “there is going to be violence.”
Further allegations included in the U.S. Attorney’s Office statement today:
The three are accused of traveling to the District of Columbia, where they wore wearing protective gear including gas masks, helmets and protective body armor. They carried two knives and walkie-talkies.
Shortly after arriving on Capitol grounds, the defendants their way into the Capitol. While inside, Sandlin and DeGrave pushed several U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) officers guarding an exterior door to the Capitol rotunda.
After forcing open the door, the defendants went together up a set of stairs in search of the Senate Chamber.
The defendants eventually reached the Senate Gallery where they encountered several USCP officers who were attempting to lock the doors to prevent rioters from entering. Sandlin and DeGrave tried to wrestle past the officers and eventually managed to enter the gallery – a balcony overlooking the Senate Chamber.
Colt climbed into the Senate Chamber and sat in a chair reserved for the vice president. While Colt was on the floor of the chamber, DeGrave shouted at him and others to “take laptops, paperwork, take everything.”
Before exiting the Capitol, Sandlin stopped to live stream himself smoking marijuana inside.
The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.
Assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the District of Nevada and District of Idaho.
Source: Las Vegas man pleads not guilty to charges from U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6 | KLAS (8newsnow.com)