Nicholas Ochs

In November 2020, Nicholas ran as a Republican candidate to represent the Waikiki neighborhood in the Hawaii House of Representatives. Endorsed by the Hawaii GOP and Roger Stone, a political consultant and lobbyist, Nicholas won the primary but lost the general election.

As a controversial journalist, the founder of the Proud Boys Hawaii chapter, and the Vice Chair at Trump Campaign Hawaii, Nicholas was an easy target. During his election campaign, his Facebook page was removed.

On January 6, 2021, Nicholas and fellow journalist Nicholas DeCarlo journeyed to Washington DC to cover the “Save America Rally” as reporters for their independent news outlet, “Murder the Media.” After marching with the crowd to the Capitol, they arrived at the West Front, where they joined others in throwing smoke bombs at the police line. They later entered the Capitol through the Senate Wing, where they filmed themselves smoking cigarettes. The same day, he posted a photograph in front of the words “Murder the Media,” which is the official name of their media outlet.

During an interview with CNN, Nicholas told the network he did not enter any congressional offices or chambers or commit any acts of violence. “We didn’t have to break in. I just walked in and filmed,” Nicholas stated. “There were thousands of people in there — they had no control of the situation. I didn’t get stopped or questioned.”

Nicholas said in a video interview that he was the first person arrested. He was detained when his plane landed back at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., charged him with a misdemeanor of unlawful entry into restricted buildings or grounds.

Nicholas stated, “I did a week in solitary confinement in federal prison for a trespassing charge while awaiting trial. That is not normal.” He went on to explain that many others who were arrested after him “had a harsher time because the media wasn’t whipped up yet. They were locked up for up to two years awaiting trial.”

Myles Breiner, Nicholas’ defense lawyer, said, “Nicholas was an easy target and has been charged with the federal equivalent of trespassing. I think the DOJ needs to be careful not to make him into a martyr.” Even though Nicholas resigned from Proud Boys in 2019, he was treated as a member of the group and a greater threat than he was by his persecutors.

In September 2022, Ochs pleaded guilty to obstructing a federal proceeding in a joint prosecution with Nicolas DeCarlo. The defense asked for an 18-month sentence. Even though Nicholas committed no violent act and posed no danger to his community, the request was denied. Judge Beryl Howell sentenced Nicholas to 48 months in prison, followed by 36 months of supervised release, and was fined $5,000. However, she approved his serving his sentence in a low-security prison camp.

Even in a low-security facility, he realized that as a right-wing conservative, everything is “stacked against you, and you are singled out.” During a recent phone interview, he revealed that he was falsely accused of planning a Jan 6-style overthrow of the prison and was placed in the segregated housing unit for 2 months to prevent an uprising. His mother, finding out about this injustice, called the state senator who in turn demanded and received his release back into the general population.

Nicholas says, “Despite prisoner’s rights being thrown out the window and the prison system doing a lot of illegal things, I am remaining positive and looking forward.”

GiveSendGo can be found via: https://www.givesendgo.com/OchsFamilyFund

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