Republican praises January 6 attacker’s ‘good faith and core principles’

Clay Higgins, middle, wrote to Judge Royce C Lamberth: ‘I submit to you this letter in support of Ryan Taylor Nichols. He is a man of good character, faith, and core principles.’ Photograph: Getty

Seeking leniency for a January 6 rioter charged with assaulting police, the Louisiana Republican congressman Clay Higgins – a former law enforcement officer himself – saluted the man’s “good character, faith and core principles”.

In video taken during the attack on Congress on 6 January 2021, the rioter was seen to say: “It’s going to be violent and yes, if you are asking, ‘Is Ryan Nichols going to bring violence? Yes, Ryan Nichols is going to bring violence.’”