ORLANDO, Fla. – A federal judge has ordered two Proud Boys organizers to return to jail after revoking their bail on charges in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol building in Washington, D.C.
Joseph Randall Biggs, 37, of Ormond Beach, was arrested Jan. 20 in the Middle District of Florida and is being prosecuted in Orlando on federal charges. He is charged with obstruction of an official proceeding, entering a restricted building or grounds, and violent or disorderly conduct, conspiracy, obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder, aiding and abetting and destruction of government property.
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During his first appearance, Biggs was granted a $25,000 unsecured bond and restricted from traveling. He also had to surrender his passport.
Now Biggs will return to jail following a federal judge’s decisions Monday to reverse earlier rulings, granting federal prosecutors’ request to revoke the release of Biggs and another Proud Boys member, Ethan Nordean, of Washington state.
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Neither defendant had violated any conditions of release but Judge Timothy J. Kelly said, “I simply don’t know what I don’t know.”
Kelly explained his decision over nearly an hour and a half comparing Biggs and Nordean’s charges to trying to steal “the crown jewels” by trying to interfere with the peaceful transfer of power.
Biggs and Nordean are accused of helping to organize the attack and storming of the Capitol building on Jan. 6, according to FBI investigators.
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Kelly said during his ruling the defendant’s “extensive involvement” in the pre-planning, coordination and leadership roles factored into his decision to revoke their bail.
“These defendants are alleged by their leadership and their planning to have facilitated political violence on Jan. 6, even if they themselves did not carry a weapon or strike a blow,” Kelly said.
Attorneys for Biggs and Nordean asked Kelly to suspend Monday’s ruling pending a possible appeal, but the judge denied their request.
Biggs and Nordean will need to self-report to the U.S. Marshals after the judge enters the order, either Monday afternoon or early Tuesday.
Biggs is among a handful of people from Central Florida who have been arrested since hundreds of pro-Trump supporters rushed the Capitol building with lawmakers inside certifying Joe Biden’s presidential win. Five died during the storming of the historic building, including one Capitol police officer.
Biggs and Nordean are among more than two dozen Capitol riot defendants who have been described by federal authorities as Proud Boys leaders, members or associates.
CBS News and The Associated Press contributed to this report.