Red-headed cosplayer and former Marine dubbed ‘Conan O’Riot’ dressed in colonial costume is arrested by FBI for taking part in January 6 riot
An alleged Jan. 6 rioter, dubbed “Conan O’Riot” because of his uncanny resemblance to late-night host Conan O’Brien, has been arrested by the FBI — after appearing on video at the Capitol in a Revolutionary-era costume.
Federal court records show that Derek Andrew Nelson, 30, was arrested Wednesday in Champaign, Illinois.
The 30-year-old is facing four felony charges in connection with the storming of the U.S. Capitol along with co-defendant Derek Dodder.
In a video recorded at the Washington Monument, Nelson was asked why he was there.
“To start a revolution,” the former Marine replied. ‘Why are you here?’
Derek Nelson, 30, was spotted wearing Colonial garb and carrying an American flag as he joined the crowd that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
After a fellow protester lit a fire extinguisher, Nelson was seen running from the gas cloud wearing a breathing mask and goggles
He appeared in videos recorded inside and outside the Capitol
Nelson is scheduled to appear remotely before a federal judge in the nation’s capital on Oct. 14
As the crowd of protesters breached the Capitol and swarmed past the outnumbered Capitol guards, Nelson was on the front lines, according to the FBI.
He was later seen in the building’s crypt, east foyer and rotunda, wearing a Revolutionary-era costume and holding an American flag.
Nelson was dubbed ‘Conan O’Riot’ online due to his resemblance to fellow redhead Conan O’Brien.
His movements were tracked and cataloged by members of the Sedition Hunters, a global collective dedicated to identifying and disseminating images of January 6 participants.
Although internet users identified him in the summer of 2021, the FBI did not show up at his home until early the next year.
Federal agents combed through his social media profile and public Facebook pages — which still exist to this day — to paint a profile of the former U.S. Marine.
They deduced that he lived in Danville, Illinois, with previous addresses in San Diego, California and Wauconda, Illinois.
They also confirmed that he had been on active duty from October 2011 to September 2015. In a Facebook photo, Nelson poses in camouflage clothing and combat goggles.
Two officers attempted to interview him at his home on February 8, 2022, but he was not home, so they left a business card in the mailbox.
Later that day, Nelson’s attorney called officers later said that on January 6, Nelson refused to discuss his involvement.
However, two months later, officers interviewed someone who had been in contact with Nelson when he purchased his Danville home in June 2021. This person positively identified him as the red-haired man captured on video inside the Capitol.
Netizens dubbed him ‘Conan O’Riot’ because of his resemblance to former talk show host Conan O’Brien
The FBI created a profile using the 30-year-old’s numerous public social media profiles and went to his home to interview him in early 2022.
Nelson’s legal counsel later contacted the FBI and informed agents that Nelson would not be speaking to them
The 30-year-old served on active duty as a US Marine from 2011 to 2015
Footage taken on January 6 shows Nelson strolling through the building and joining the crowd chanting “Our House” and “Stop the Stealing.”
In another video, Nelson was among the masses walking up the stairs to the second floor of the building, towards the Rotunda.
When the cameraman shouted, “Who are they working for?” Nelson raised his fist in the air and shouted, “Us!”
The FBI alleged that Nelson and Dodder arrived at the Rotunda around 2:30 p.m., where Nelson then turned away one of the statues.
After another rioter lit a fire extinguisher at the doors of the House of Representatives, Nelson was seen running from the gas clouds.
Wearing goggles and a gas mask, he was easily recognizable thanks to his flaming hair and revolutionary-era cosplay.
A federal magistrate judge in Illinois released Nelson on his own recognizance on Wednesday and ordered him not to travel outside the continental US without court permission.
The former Marine was not allowed to possess a firearm, destructive device or any other weapon.
Nelson has been charged with four counts: entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds; Disorderly and disruptive behavior in a building or grounds to which access is not permitted; Disorderly conduct in any Capitol building or grounds; and parading, demonstrating or picketing a Capitol building.
The 30-year-old will appear virtually before a federal judge on October 17.
Although his fate is currently unclear, hundreds of other rioters have been charged and sentenced to prison.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, as of September 6, approximately 623 people were convicted on criminal charges, and approximately 378 of that number were imprisoned.
The longest sentence to date was imposed on someone who was not even in the Capitol on the day of the riot.
Enrique Tarrio, former chairman of the Proud Boys, was sentenced to 22 years in prison in September.
Enrique Tarrio gathers in support of US President Donald Trump to protest the results of the 2020 US presidential election, in Washington, USA November 14, 2020
He was accused of leading a conspiracy designed to keep Donald Trump in power. Tarrio has been in jail since his arrest nearly a year ago.
Before January 6, he was ordered to leave DC after being arrested and charged with setting fire to a Black Lives Matter banner. However, prosecutors argued that Tarrio continued to rally his men from afar.
Some of the longest other sentences are more than 10 years.
Although Conan O’Brien has yet to respond to comments comparing him to his doppelgänger, the former talk show host had a lot to say about the events of January 6.
On his podcast Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend, O’Brien called the day disturbing “for any conscious American.”
He blasted Republican Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley for objecting to the certification of Joe Biden’s presidential victory even after the attack on the Capitol.
“To see Cruz and Hawley come out of that lockdown and see this idiocy resurface, I think this is the angriest I’ve been since Schitt’s Creek went off the air,” O’Brien joked.
Last month, O’Brien joked that former President Donald Trump’s influence on comedy was his “biggest crime.”
He said: ‘I think he damaged the political comedy by being so bizarre himself. I think the January 6 thing is just nonsense compared to how much it hurt comedy.”