“Graydon Young, an accused Capitol rioter, agreed to plead guilty on Wednesday and as part of his plea deal, he may take the stand against his co-conspirators,” Newsweek reported.
Young, who’s believed to be a member of the Oath Keepers, a right-wing militia organization, is accused of entering the Capitol as part of a “stack,” a tactical formation used for moving through a crowd. Seen with what appears to be communication devices, prosecutors have used the Oath Keepers’ coordination on January 6 to bring about conspiracy charges that allege they premeditated the attack on the Capitol.
On Wednesday, he became the second member of the Oath Keepers to plead guilty. Jon Schaffer, an alleged member of the Oath Keepers, pleaded guilty in April to one count of obstruction of an official proceeding and one count of entering and remaining in a restricted building with a deadly or dangerous weapon.
Julie Kelly, a reporter with American Greatest posted on Twitter about the hearing:
“Listening in on plea hearing for Graydon Young, an Oath Keeper charged with several offenses related to January 6. Judge Mehta presiding.
Young is a first-time offender but was locked up for weeks on government-requested pre-trial detention. Finally released in late March. “Young did not tear down barricades to get to the Capitol. Young did not possess a weapon. He did not damage any property inside the Capitol.”
He’s charged with conspiracy, civil disorder, and obstruction of an official proceeding along with “tampering” with records or documents for deleting his FB account after January 6.
Young, 54, is an MBA. Pleads guilty to conspiracy and obstruction of an official proceeding.
15 Oath Keepers face similar charges. Big win for Biden DOJ, first guilty plea on conspiracy charge against Oath Keepers. He will cooperate with the government, will provide testimony to a grand jury and in court.
The U.S. government just criminalized the act of planning to travel to the nation’s capital with others to engage in a (20 minute) protest that disrupts any official business of Congress. We’ll see how this applies in the future.
Both are felonies. The U.S. government just criminalized the act of planning to travel to the nation’s capital with others to engage in a (20 minute) protest that disrupts any official business of Congress. We’ll see how this applies in the future.”
His plea deal factors in that the conspiracy involved extensive planning in scope and preparation, a major coup for prosecutors to secure as they continue to investigate the Oath Keepers stationing guns around the Capitol and coordinating their movements to attack Congress.
Prosecutors are dropping the aiding and abetting charges Young faces, as well as a charge he faced for deleting his Facebook account on January 8.
Young agreed to cooperate with federal investigators and cut a deal to plead guilty to two felony counts — conspiracy and obstruction of an official proceeding. He could face a likely sentence of more than five years in prison, according to estimates read at his plea hearing on Wednesday. He has also agreed to pay $2,000 in restitution for damage done to the Capitol building.
