5th SC man arrested on federal charges in Jan. 6 Capitol riot

A fifth South Carolina man has been arrested on charges connected to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot in which hundreds of pro-Trump insurrectionists stormed the U.S. Capitol.

Nicholas Languerand, 26, appeared Thursday afternoon by video in a brief court session before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Rogers at the federal courthouse in Florence.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Elliott Daniels asked Rogers to deny bond to Languerand, who faces various federal charges, including violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, assaulting an officer using a dangerous weapon, theft of government property and knowingly entering and remaining in restricted government area.

“We believe he is a flight risk and a danger to peace,” Daniels told Rogers.

Rogers denied bond and set next Tuesday afternoon for a hearing in Florence where prosecutors will be required to put up evidence as to why Languerand should continue to be denied bond. At that time, if Languerand wishes, he can request a preliminary hearing at which the government will be required to show the evidence it has to support the criminal charges it has filed against Languerand.

On Thursday morning, government agents executed a search warrant on the residence where Languerand lives. Languerand is a resident of Little River in Horry County, according to the Horry County Sheriff’s Office.

“We searched the defendant’s home this morning,” said Daniels, adding that agents came across new evidence concerning Languerand’s case. “The government is still going through it.”

He did not reveal where Languerand lives or where he was arrested. However, from detail in the complaint against Languerand, it appears likely the government’s investigation concerning him has been going on since late February.

The charges against the man were unsealed Thursday before the Florence hearing.

The complaint said that an “individual resembling Languerand is throwing a variety of objects at the law enforcement officers defending the entrance to the Lower West Terrace tunnel (of the Capitol).”

The complaint continued, “Among the objects thrown at law enforcement are what appears to be a large orange traffic barrier, a canister of pepper spray, and a stick-like object.”

The complaint also says, “The individual resembling Languerand was holding a police shield and hitting it against the ground.”

The complaint also alleges that Languerand posted on the internet site Reddit, “My name is Nicholas Languerand and I am a proud Patriot. Where We Go, 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.”

Languerand was arrested after the FBI got a tip from one of his acquaintances.

The tipster told the FBI that Languerand had posted a photo of himself at the Capitol on Instagram.

Surveillance photos taken at the Capitol of rioters also depicted an individual believed to be Languerand, the complaint said.

Languerand's Thursday court appearance was an arraignment, a usually brief initial appearance before a judge during which criminal charges are formally read to the defendant.

The charges against Languerand, detailed in court records, were unsealed Thursday.

Other South Carolinians facing charges in the Capitol riot and against whom charges are pending are:

▪ Elias Irizarry, 19, a freshman at the Citadel military college in Charleston.

▪ Elliott Bishai, 20, a York County man planning to enter the U.S. Army in the next few months.

▪ William Norwood III, of Greer, who is charged with knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building without lawful authority, violent and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, obstruction of justice and theft of government property.

▪ Andrew Hatley, who is charged with “uttering threatening, or abusive language, or engag(ing) in disorderly or disruptive conduct, at any place in the Grounds or in any of the Capitol Buildings with the intent to impede, disrupt, or disturb the orderly conduct of a session of Congress or either House of Congress.” He is also charged with engaging disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

▪ James Giannakos, of Gilbert in Lexington County, is being investigated in connection with being at the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, according to an FBI search warrant. He has not been charged.

More than 400 people have been arrested in connection with the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, as Congress was getting ready to conduct the formal certification of President Biden’s November election victory.

For weeks, then-President Trump had been claiming without evidence that Biden and Democrats committed massive fraud that wrongly gave the election to Biden.

On the morning of Jan. 6, thousands of Trump supporters showed up at a rally near the White House, where Trump and others repeated the fraud claims and encouraged marchers to go to the Capitol to protest the vote.

Of those thousands of protesters, fewer than 1,000 are believed to have stormed the Capitol, broke through police lines and caused members of Congress to flee for their lives. The insurrection failed, and Congress went back into session about five hours later.

Some of those arrested are known to be associated with far-right groups like the Proud Boys or the Oath Keepers, but no affiliation has been made public for many others arrested so far.

All those arrested, including Languerand, are expected to be prosecuted through the District of Columbia Department of Justice courts.

Sun News reporter Gerard Albert contributed to this report.

This story was originally published April 15, 2021 at 2:45 PM.