Joshua James, a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq, pleaded guilty to charges of seditious conspiracy and obstruction of an official proceeding in court on Tuesday. So far, he is the only member of the Oath Keepers charged with sedition to accept a plea deal and agree to cooperate with law enforcement.
According to the Department of Justice, James admitted that in November and January "he conspired with other Oath Keeper members and affiliates to use force to prevent, hinder and delay the execution of the laws of the United States governing the transfer of presidential power."
Acting on these plans, he traveled to the Washington D.C. area with firearms and tactical gear, coordinating with fellow Oathkeepers using encrypted communication.
He participated in establishing a weapons cache at a hotel in Virginia and when he heard that the Capitol had been breached on Jan. 6 he traveled there to meet his alleged co-conspirators, court documents say.
After illegally entering the U.S. Capitol building, James admitted to assaulting a police officer by grabbing him by his body armor and screaming, "Get out of my Capitol! This is not yours! This is my Capitol!"
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After being kicked out of the Capitol building, James traveled to Texas to meet other Oathkeepers and amass a collection of weapons and ammunition in order to take part in a civil war that they anticipated breaking out.
James faces 20 years of seditious conspiracy and 20 years for interrupting an official proceeding, plus financial penalties.
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