Public January 6 profile · ready to claim
Derek Andrew Nelson
Pardoned January 6 defendant
Documented editorial-use imageDerek Andrew Nelson is a Champaign, Illinois man and a United States Marine whose January 6 case was built on four misdemeanors, no felony. FACT: He is a United States Marine, active duty from October 2011 to September 2015, four years in the Corps before any of this happened (NBC News). FACT: Internet sleuths gave him a joke nickname because of his red hair and a costume he wore. He lived under that nickname for more than two and a half years before anyone knocked on his door, identified in 2021, not arrested until October 2023. Imagine waiting that long (NBC News). FACT: He faced four misdemeanor counts. No felony. No assault charge. He pleaded guilty to one count of entering and remaining in a restricted building, and Judge Carl Nichols sentenced him to 75 days in the summer of 2024 (NBC News; Chicago Sun-Times). FACT: On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued clemency in January 6 cases. NEEDS AUTHENTICATION: No verified fundraiser or self-published account located for Derek. Marines who served with him and want to speak to his service are welcome to reach out. FACT: NBC News and the Chicago Sun-Times both noted that prosecutors alleged he wore a gas mask and a Revolutionary War style costume that day, details that made the online nickname stick even after his identity became public, but the counts against him remained misdemeanors throughout, never elevated to a felony. WHERE THINGS STAND: Four misdemeanors, no felony, no assault charge, and a Marine's four years of active duty service on the record alongside it, a long wait between being identified online and ever being arrested. CASE RECORD Case No. 23-MJ-00265, U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Complaint filed October 2, 2023. Arrested October 4, 2023. Pleaded guilty, sentenced to 75 days. Covered by the January 20, 2025 clemency proclamation. This profile is unclaimed. If this is you, or your family, claiming it is free, forever.
The case file
On the record
- Case number
- 23-MJ-00265
- Court
- U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
- Disposition
- Complaint Filed - 10/02/2023 Arrested - 10/04/2023
- Arrested
- October 4, 2023
Sentence
sentenced to 75 days
Press & news
- https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/defendants/nelson-derek-andrew →
- https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/fbi-arrests-redheaded-cosplayer-dubbed-conan-oriot-jan-6-sleuths-rcna118948 →
- https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/jan-6-defendant-dubbed-conan-oriot-gets-prison-time-role-capitol-attac-rcna161410 →
- https://chicago.suntimes.com/2024/07/10/illinois-man-revolutionary-war-costume-gas-mask-jan-6-riot-2-5-months-jail →
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Connection to United States v. Nichols
Derek Andrew Nelson appears in the record of United States v. Nichols. The full case — timeline, people, documents — is public and free.
Walk the whole case →Evidence on file
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