Alex Harkrider

A Longview man has pleaded guilty and a Carthage man is set to go to trial early next year in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection.

Ryan Taylor Nichols, of Longview, and Alex Kirk Harkrider, of Carthage, were both indicted in 2021 on charges related to the attempted U.S. Capitol riot. Prosecutors had accused them of taking part in the mob that stormed the Capitol and who intended to obstruct the electoral vote certification of President Joe Biden.

In a status conference held Nov. 8, jury selection and trial in Harkrider’s case was set for Jan. 2 at 10 a.m. before Judge Royce C. Lamberth.

Nichols pleaded guilty Nov. 7 in the District of Columbia District Court to obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting and then assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers. His sentence will be determined at a later date.

A plea deal filed in the case notes Nichols agreed to a statement of offense that included the following facts, among others:

That Nichols and Harkrider traveled from Texas to Washington, D.C. based on the belief that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent.

That Nichols sent Harkrider several text messages before Jan. 6, including a photo of body armor and pricing.

That in a text conversation between Harkrider and Nichols on Jan. 3, Nichols and Harkrider believed a battle would take place, that Nichols told Harkrider he knew how to get guns legally into DC, that Harkrider said “I’ll bring every freedom blaster I own then” and that the two discussed bringing bullets for an AR.

That the pair each brought two guns with them in the back of Nichols’ truck on their trip. Nichols and Harkrider deny bringing any of the four guns to the Capitol on Jan. 6

That Nichols and Harkrider attended a rally on the night of Jan. 5, and at one point Nichols shouted “Those people in the f— Capitol building are our enemy.”

That Nichols and Harkrider attended a rally in support of then-President Trump on Jan. 6 near the Ellipse before marching with others to the U.S. Capitol. Both wore a ballistic plate in a plate carrier, and Nichols was armed with a crowbar and Harkrider armed with a tactical tomahawk.

That Nichols, upon hearing Trump had tweeted “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution…” made an expletive-laden statement in a live video that they were not going to have the election and country stolen and that they were going to fight for it.

That after the pair arrived at the Capitol grounds, they joined a large group of rioters in front of an arched entrance to the Lower West Terrace doors, colloquially known as the “tunnel” as rioters tried to force their way past U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department guarding the entrance.

That the pair tried to push their way into the Capitol and that Nichols encouraged the rioters to push forward.

That Nichols pepper-sprayed into the tunnel, hitting several officers

That the pair entered the Capitol through a broken window, specifically Room ST-2M, and later stood on the window ledge. Nichols then, using a bullhorn, shouted “Get in the building, this is your country, get in the building, we will not be told ‘No.’” and “This is not a peaceful protect.”

That later in his hotel room that night, Nichols again posted a video about the riot, saying he stood for violence and would not allow his country to be stolen.

That after returning to Texas, Nichols burned the clothing he wore to the Capitol, deleted evidence from his cell phone and told Harkrider to also delete evidence from his cell phone.

In a Oct. 25 response to oppose Harkrider’s motion for a trial continuation, prosecutors discussed several other details from the days following the riot, arguing the facts of the case would not provide a defense for Harkrider.

“When Harkrider was arrested on January 18, 2021, a broken piece of a chair from the Capitol was found on top of his nightstand, along with the baseball cap he wore on January 6, 2021,” prosecutors note in their response. “After being arrested, Harkrider admitted that he ‘really f— up’ when he ‘crawled through that window that was broken.’ Thus, even assuming Defendant Nichols denied Defendant Harkrider’s culpability under oath, video testimony and testimony from Defendant Harkrider’s admissions and text messages clearly demonstrate his culpability.”