Frederick man gets 8 months home detention for Jan. 6 Capitol riot; prosecution sought prison time

Oct. 26—A federal judge on Wednesday ordered a Frederick man to serve eight months of home detention for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot and attack on the U.S. Capitol, rejecting the prosecution's request for prison time.

The Department of Justice initially sought 57 months of prison for Nicholas Rodean, 29, but during a hearing on Wednesday, dropped its request to 21 months.

U.S. District Court Judge Trevor N. McFadden said the fact that Rodean has Asperger's Syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder, and was easily influenced to join the rioters was a "mitigating factor" that justified keeping him confined at home, rather than incarcerated.

"I believe your Asperger's Syndrome is significant to what you did and mitigates blame," McFadden said.

McFadden sentenced Rodean to 240 days as a part of five years of probation. He will also have to pay restitution of $2,048 for damage he caused to the Capitol and was ordered to limit his access to internet to 30 minutes per day..

McFadden said incarceration would be difficult for someone with Asperger's, a type of autism spectrum disorder.

The Department of Justice has said that Rodean was the 15th rioter to illegally enter the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, when an angry mob broke in to try to prevent the transfer of presidential power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden, who won the 2020 election.

Rodean broke a window pane near a door of the Senate Wing using a flagpole and a round object, according to an Oct. 19 sentencing memorandum from the Department of Justice.

The memorandum said the window was later used as an entrance for many who entered the Capitol later in the day.

Rodean was found guilty in July of seven counts that included destruction of government property, disorderly conduct in a government building and physical violence on restricted grounds, according to the Department of Justice.

In the Oct. 19 memorandum, the Department of Justice asked that Rodean be sentenced to 57 months in prison, which it said was on the low range of a sentencing guideline range of 57 to 71 months.

The department also asked for three years of supervised release.

In court on Wednesday, however, Assistant U.S. Attorney Cindy Jane Cho said the department was changing its request from 57 to 21 months in prison. Cho declined to comment after the sentencing hearing.

McFadden said he learned that Rodean is a "maniacal rule follower" and highly susceptible to charismatic people due to his Asperger's, which led him to be part of the group that broke into the Capitol.

Rodean's attorney, Charles Burnham, argued the same points earlier in the hearing.

He said Rodean's healthy political interest quickly became unhealthy during the pandemic. Rodean hyperfixated on Trump while he was stuck inside, and constantly on the internet, Burnham said.

McFadden made it clear he was giving Rodean a break.

"This is your only chance," McFadden said. "If you get in trouble again, I will lock you up."

In court, Rodean apologized.

He stopped and started often as he gave an account of what happened on Jan. 6, saying he was just following the crowd and wanted to see what was happening.

"I'm really sorry ...," he said. "I wasn't trying to commit a crime. I was just following everyone else in the Capitol."

Rodean's sister, Kimberly Rodean, also addressed the court. She said her brother has a strong support system with his family, who will be "hypervigilant" with his behavior.

Kimberly Rodean told McFadden that before the hearing, she told Nicholas she would only speak to the judge if he shook her hand, looked her in the eye and swore he wouldn't break any rules. He made that promise, she said.

Burnham had no comment following the sentencing.

After Rodean entered the Capitol through the window, he and a small group of rioters encountered U.S. Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman, according to the sentencing memorandum. The group chased Goodman up two flights of stairs.

Goodman has received acclaim as the officer who led Jan. 6 rioters away from the Senate chamber.

Rodean and the rioters later found themselves in a hallway known as the Ohio Clock corridor, the memorandum said. They stayed there for more than 40 minutes.

While in the corridor, the rioters ran into more Capitol police officers.

One officer noticed the round object in Rodean's hand and asked that he put it away. Rodean did, but later pulled out a hatchet that he said he brought for self defense, the memorandum said. The officer again asked Rodean to put it away, and he did.

Rodean told officers that he was at the Capitol to "stop the steal."

During Wednesday's sentencing, Rodean said he used that phrase because everyone else was saying it.

Before going to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, Rodean told his supervisor at a Navistar Direct Marketing warehouse that he wouldn't be at work on Jan. 6, since he would be attending a Trump rally, the memorandum said.

Later on Jan. 6, Rodean's supervisor called him since he saw a picture of who he believed was Rodean inside the Capitol. Rodean did not answer, but called the next day. When his supervisor expressed concern about where Rodean was, Rodean said "it needed to be done," the memorandum said.

His supervisor later testified that Rodean "idolized" Trump, according to the memorandum.

Rodean was fired on Jan. 7, the News-Post reported, and arrested less than a week later, on Jan. 13.

Follow Clara Niel on Twitter: @clarasniel