WASHINGTON — A member of the Proud Boys who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and shot at law enforcement officers this year after the FBI asked him to surrender was sentenced to two years in federal prison Wednesday.
Nathan Pelham, of Texas, pleaded guilty to a federal felony charge of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade of the Northern District of Texas imposed the sentence, according to court records.
An FBI special agent had said Pelham was informed of the Capitol attack charges on April 12. Federal court records show that Pelham's case was not initially placed under seal, as criminal cases almost always are until law enforcement executes an arrest.
Local authorities went to Pelham’s home that night after his father requested a welfare check, according to the filing. Pelham fired several shots toward the law enforcement officials, the FBI special agent said, and one of the officers said a shot “came in so close proximity to myself that I could hear the distinct whistling sound as the bullet traveled by me and then strike a metal object to my right side.”
Pelham was sentenced to time served by U.S. District Judge John D. Bates in his Jan. 6 case in September. Prosecutors said Pelham "was dishonest with law enforcement, both before and after his arrest, about what he did at the Capitol."
Prosecutors in the Jan. 6 case said Pelham was "apparently drunk" when he shot several rounds on April 12.
"According to subsequent police reports, Pelham called his wife, told her goodbye, and said that he planned to make the police shoot him," they wrote. "Pelham paced outside, holding a gun and yelling at police. He eventually went back inside and fired the gun several times. For their own safety, police left the property that night, and let Pelham sleep off his drinking."
He surrendered at a local police station on April 14.
About 1,200 people have been arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, and more than 400 have been sentenced to periods of incarceration.
Last month, Jan. 6 defendant Gregory Yetman set off a multiday manhunt when he fled when the FBI showed up at his home to arrest him.
