Members of Antifa and the Proud Boys clash in the middle of the street following the "Million MAGA March" on Saturday in Washington, DC over the election results. Photo: AFP

The US Justice Department arrested and charged a top member of the Seattle chapter of the far-right Proud Boys group on Wednesday over allegations that he had a role in the storming of the US Capitol on January 6 by pro-Trump followers.

Separately, two other Proud Boys members including the leader of the group's Hawaii chapter were indicted by a federal grand jury for conspiracy to obstruct Congress, the Justice Department said.

Prosecutors said that 30-year-old Ethan Nordean, also known as Rufio Panman, could face up to 20 years in prison if he is convicted on a charge of impeding an official government proceeding. He also faces other charges, including aiding and abetting.

Nordean did not enter a plea and his attorney did not indicate at a federal court hearing in Washington state whether her client intends to contest the charges. The judge scheduled a hearing for Monday to review a request by the government to hold Nordean in custody pending trial.

Nordean is the self-proclaimed "Sergeant of Arms" for the Seattle chapter of the Proud Boys, an extremist group that describes itself as a "pro-Western fraternal organization for men who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world," prosecutors said.

Nordean was arrested only hours after Canada named the Proud Boys a terrorist entity, saying that while the group has never mounted an attack in Canada, domestic intelligence forces have become increasingly worried about it.

The Proud Boys' founder, Gavin McInnes, is a Canadian who lives in the US.

The indictment against Nicholas Ochs, 34, of Honolulu, and Nicholas DeCarlo, 30, of Burleson, Texas, said the two men agreed before January 6 to travel to Washington DC to "stop, delay and hinder" the certification of President Joe Biden's election victory, the Justice Department said. The riot led to five deaths.

After entering the Capitol, Ochs and DeCarlo posted videos of their actions on social media in real time and "defaced the US Capitol by scrawling onto its Memorial Door the words 'MURDER THE MEDIA,'" it said.

If convicted, DeCarlo and Ochs face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, the Justice Department said. Both men were arrested in January.

Biden's administration has warned that domestic extremism is a growing threat following the Capitol rampage, a sharp departure from the way former president Donald Trump regarded groups such as the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.

In a September pre-election debate with Biden, Trump told the Proud Boys to "stand back and stand by."

The FBI has been looking particularly closely at the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers and other far-right groups and anti-government militias as they investigate the Capitol riots.

Reuters