WASHINGTON — A former “Jesus Christ Superstar” actor was acquitted Wednesday of conspiring with members of the far-right extremist group Oath Keepers to obstruct Congress in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
James Beeks, a Florida resident who was playing Judas in the touring production of the musical when he was arrested, was acquitted of conspiracy to obstruct congressional certification of the 2020 election and civil disorder after a federal court trial. US District Judge Amit Mehta sentenced Beeks’ co-defendant Donovan Crowl, an Ohio resident, on the same charges after hearing evidence without a jury.
Beeks’ acquittal is an unusual loss for the Department of Justice in the January 6 mass prosecution, which led to the arrest of more than 1,000 people across the US. Beeks is only the second January 6 defendant to be acquitted of all charges after a trial. Beeks represented himself at trial, although he was assisted by an attorney who served as acting counsel and presented closing arguments for him.
Approximately 100 other people have been found guilty of at least one charge after a trial decided by a jury or judge, and more than 600 have pleaded guilty.
The Beeks and Crowl trial was what is called a “stipulated bench trial,” meaning that the judge decided the case based on a series of facts that both sides agreed to before the trial began. Such trials allow defendants to admit to certain facts while maintaining the right to appeal any conviction.
Prosecutors had previously charged Beeks with other misdemeanors, including trespassing into the Capitol, but agreed to go to trial only on the two felonies and dismiss the remaining charges.
It is the latest trial involving associates of the Oath Keepers, who have been charged in the most serious cases stemming from the riots. Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes was sentenced in May to 18 years in prison for seditious conspiracy and other charges for what prosecutors described as a week-long plot to keep former President Donald Trump in power after he lost the election. of 2020.
Prosecutors say Beeks and Crowl were part of a group of Oath Keepers wearing paramilitary gear and stormed the Capitol along with the crowd of Trump supporters. Beeks joined the Oath Keepers in December 2020 and drove to Washington from Florida before meeting with a group of extremists before the riots, prosecutors said.
Beeks, who was also a Michael Jackson impersonator, wore a jacket from Jackson’s “Bad” world tour along with a helmet and carried a homemade shield during the riot, according to court documents.
Mehta said Beeks, unlike other Oath Keepers charged with riot-related offences, did not post any messages on social media or exchange text messages with other extremists that could establish what his “state of mind” was that led to him. to the riots at the Capitol. The judge also cited a lack of evidence about what Beeks did inside the Capitol that could support a conviction for interfering with police.
“His actions should go up and down on their own,” the judge said.
Beeks was arrested in November 2021 while touring in Milwaukee with the “Jesus Christ Superstar” tour. He told reporters after the verdict that he “feels like a big load has been lifted” off his shoulders.
Beeks acknowledged that he joined the Oath Keepers through the group’s website, but said he never met or communicated with any of his alleged co-conspirators before January 6. He said that he never knew of any plans to attack the Capitol and mistakenly believed in Oath Keepers. They were the good guys.”
“I ran into the wrong people,” he said. “I lost my entire career. (January 6) is like a scarlet letter.”
Crowl was part of the regular Ohio state militia led by Jessica Watkins, who was acquitted of seditious conspiracy but convicted of other serious charges at trial along with Rhodes. In December 2022, Crowl sent a message in a group chat that included Watkins stating that “law-abiding citizens are willing to ‘act out of character’… The time for talk is over.”
Crowl’s attorney, Carmen Hernandez, said her client was exercising his First Amendment free speech rights on Jan. 6 with no intent to prevent Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.
“His conduct was not unlike that of many Americans who have gone to Congress to peacefully protest and have not been charged with felonies,” Hernández wrote in an email.
