Covington man dubbed 'green horn hoodlum' admits assaulting officers in Capitol riots

Quinlan Bentley, Cincinnati Enquirer
·2 min read
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When questioned by an officer at the Capitol, Nicholas Brockhoff provided his name, according to court records.
When questioned by an officer at the Capitol, Nicholas Brockhoff provided his name, according to court records.

A Northern Kentucky man admitted Thursday in federal court in Washington D.C. to assaulting police officers with a fire extinguisher during the U.S. Capitol riots last year, court records show.

Nicholas Brockhoff, 21, of Covington, pleaded guilty to a single count of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers using a dangerous weapon, according to documents filed in federal court.

In court filings, prosecutors say Brockhoff was part of a mob that gathered on the west side of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, while a joint session of Congress was certifying electoral votes for the 2020 presidential election.

From his position on the west terrace, Brockhoff threw an object toward law enforcement and discharged a fire extinguisher down onto the west plaza where officers struggled to hold back the rioters, the court filings read. He then ran to the upper west terrace and continued discharging the fire extinguisher onto the retreating officers.

While on the bleacher-style seating erected for the presidential inauguration, prosecutors said, Brockhoff again let off the fire extinguisher toward police.

"Every time Brockhoff discharged a fire extinguisher, he caused law enforcement officers to disperse, which interfered with their ability to conduct crowd control and prevented them from seeing, avoiding, or deflecting projectiles and weapons intended to injure them," the court documents state.

Brockhoff also obtained a Metropolitan Police Department officer's helmet, which he wore "like a trophy," prosecutors said in court filings.

Federal prosecutors say Nicholas Brockhoff, of Covington, was at the U.S. Capitol wearing a helmet taken from a Metropolitan Police Department officer on Jan. 6, 2021.
Federal prosecutors say Nicholas Brockhoff, of Covington, was at the U.S. Capitol wearing a helmet taken from a Metropolitan Police Department officer on Jan. 6, 2021.

While wearing the helmet, Brockhoff entered a Senate conference room through a broken window, according to prosecutors. Once inside the Capitol, Brockhoff and other rioters kicked their way into another conference room, where he then tore open a box and riffled through papers.

Prosecutors say Brockhoff gave up the officer's helmet when law enforcement confronted him as he climbed out of the Capitol through a broken window.

Court documents show he identified himself to a police officer at the Capitol.

The officer asked his name and he replied, “Nick.”

“Nick what?” the officer asked.

“Brockhoff,” he said.

Brockhoff, known on Twitter as the "green horn hoodlum," grew up in Covington, where he lived with his twin older brothers, twin sister and his parents.

His mother, April Frese Brockhoff, served on the Covington Independent Public Schools board from 2015 through 2020. She was unanimously elected as chairperson of the board in 2017.

Brockhoff played basketball and baseball at Holmes High School in Covington, where he graduated in 2019. He made the honor roll in high school and studied abroad in Spain.

After high school, Brockhoff began working in construction. Before the charges in the Capitol case, he didn’t have a criminal record as an adult.

Prosecutors say Brockhoff was arrested in Counce, Tennessee in May 2021.

He's facing a maximum of 20 years in prison and potential financial penalties, court records show. Brockhoff is scheduled to appear in court for sentencing on March 24.

The Enquirer archive contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Feds: NKY man dubbed 'green horn hoodlum' admits role in Capitol riots