SOUTH CAROLINA, USA — A South Carolina man is accused of throwing a large orange traffic barrier and a can of pepper spray at officers during the Capitol Hill riots on Jan. 6, according to federal warrants.
Officials say Nicholas Languerand, 26, was arrested and booked into the J. Reuben Long Detention Center on Thursday after a lengthy FBI investigation that began in February when agents received a tip about Instagram photos he posted of himself at the Capitol.
The Little River man is charged with the following:
- Assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon;
- Civil Disorders (aiding and abetting);
- Theft of government property (aiding and abetting);
- Knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority using a dangerous weapon; and
- Violent entry and disorderly conduct on capitol grounds.
According to the FBI report, Languerand posted a picture on Instagram of himself with the comment, “‘Remember this day forever.’ I love you guys. Ask me about the….” He was shown in a red knit hat with black-and-white stripes and a black sweatshirt with the word “Georgia” in gold lettering.
Investigators said they recognized the same outfit, including the plaid shirt that can be seen under his sweatshirt, in a series of videos that show him near the tunnel entrance of the Lowe West Terrace, just below where his Instagram photo was taken. Languerand’s Instagram and Reddit accounts are both under the same name, “blessthisimmunity_17,” according to the FBI.
In a Reddit post, the report shows Languerand wrote: “My name is Nicholas Languerand and I am a proud Patriot. Where We Go One, We Go All. Only true fascists censor and slander the opposition. You are doing precisely what SS soldiers and sympathizers would’ve done to Jews in 1940s Germany. God is watching.”
The report goes on to describe more photos of a person resembling Languerand taken from videos: “In these publicly available photos and videos, the individual resembling LANGUERAND is throwing a variety of objects at the law enforcement officers defending the entrance to the Lower West Terrace tunnel. Among the objects thrown at law enforcement are what appears to be a large orange traffic barrier, a cannister of pepper spray, and a stick-like object. Two screenshots from one of these videos are shown below, and the individual resembling LANGUERAND is circled in red.”
“In this video, the individual resembling LANGUERAND can be seen throwing various objects at the law enforcement officers defending the tunnel entrance. A screenshot from the security video is shown below, with the individual resembling LANGUERAND circled in red.”
Video from the riots also showed Languerand was holding a police shield and hitting it against the ground, according to investigators.
The agent concludes during the offense, Languerand “did use and carry a deadly and dangerous weapon, to wit: a traffic barrier and a stick-like object.”
Languerand remains in the J. Reuben Long Detention Center as of Thursday afternoon. The criminal complaint was signed by a U.S. magistrate on April 12.