A member of the far-right Oath Keeper militia has become the first person to plead guilty to seditious conspiracy in relation to the Capitol riots.
Joshua James, 34, is cooperating with the FBI and has directly implicated militia leader Stewart Rhodes in a violent plot to try to prevent Joe Biden from assuming power during the deadly 6 January 2021 attack in Washington DC.
Mr James, from Arab, Alabama, told investigators that militia members “used encrypted and private communications, equipped themselves with a variety of weapons, donned combat and tactical gear” in the lead-up to the violent assault.
The charging document states he and other Oath Keepers collected firearms from DC hotels in preparation for the assault and and were prepared to “answer Rhodes’s call to take up arms”.
As the riots got underway, Mr James, an army veteran, moved through the crowd with other Oath Keepers in a military-style “stack” formation and used force to gain entry to the Capitol, authorities say.
Mr James has admitted getting into a fight with a police officer while inside the Capitol.
Authorities say the Oath Keepers were also operating as a private security detail for Donald Trump, who spoke at a Stop the Steal rally prior to the riots.
Mr James said he and other Oath Keepers were instructed to “be prepared, if called upon, to report to the White House grounds to secure the perimeter and use lethal force if necessary against anyone who tried to remove President Trump from the White House, including the National Guard or other government actors”.
Mr James has also pleaded guilty to a charge of obstruction of an official proceeding.
Prosecutors recommended a sentencing guideline of seven to nine years in prison. Part of his plea agreement is that he will have to testify before a grand jury.
While four other people connected with the Oath Keepers have pleaded guilty to obstruction of Congress and a lesser conspiracy charge, Mr James is the first member of the group to plead guilty to the more serious seditious conspiracy charge.
The seditious conspiracy prosecution is the boldest publicly known attempt so far by the government to prosecute those who attacked the US Capitol. The group’s founder, Mr Rhodes, and others have pleaded not guilty to seditious conspiracy and other charges.
Associated Press contributed to this report
