Broadway actor charged for role in Capitol siege with Oath Keepers

ByEyewitness News WABC logo

Thursday, November 25, 2021

Broadway actor charged for role in Capitol siege with Oath Keepers

49-year-old Broadway actor James Beeks is one of the latest suspects charged with taking part in the January 6 siege on Capitol Hill.

WASHINGTON (WABC) -- A Broadway actor is one of the latest suspects charged with taking part in the January 6 siege on Capitol Hill.

The suspect is identified as 49-year-old Orlando resident James Beeks and is said to be a member of the far-right militia group called the Oath Keepers.

He is a current cast member of the traveling production of Jesus Christ Superstar.

According to court documents, Beeks joined with others objecting to Democratic President Joe Biden's election victory over former Republican President Donald Trump. A mob attacked the Capitol in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying election results, authorities said. Five people died in the violence.

A federal judge sentenced Jacob Chansley, better known as the "QAnon Shaman," to 41 months in prison for his role in the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot.

At one point during the attack, a group of Oath Keeper members and affiliates marched in "stack" formation into the Capitol grounds and then up the east steps of the Capitol to the area outside of the Rotunda doors.

Once inside the Capitol, the group split up. Half of them, including Beeks, tried to push their way through a line of law enforcement officers guarding a hallway that led to the Senate chamber, officials said.

Law enforcement forcibly repelled their advance. Beeks and others with him regrouped in the Rotunda and then left the building.

Police say they were able to identify him because he wore a Michael Jackson "BAD" world tour jacket, a black helmet and was carrying what appeared to be a homemade black shield.

Beeks was charged with a felony count of obstruction of Congress and a misdemeanor count of unlawfully entering a restricted building or grounds, according to court records.

Since Jan. 6, more than 675 people have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, officials said.

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