Federal agents arrested an Alabama man linked to the Oath Keepers, a far-right militia group with reported ties to Roger Stone, for allegedly storming the U.S. Capitol during January’s riot, authorities said Tuesday.
Joshua A. James, a 33-year-old resident of Arab, Alabama, was charged with obstructing an official proceeding and entering a restricted building, according to a federal complaint filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court.
In court documents, federal authorities said James is the owner of a cleaning company, America Pro Hydro Services, and was in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 wearing “an Oath Keepers baseball cap” and “a black long-sleeve top with an Oath Keepers patch on the sleeve.”
The Oath Keepers is a group that had urged former President Donald Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act and deploy special forces and militia members to seize U.S. election systems and suppress “domestic enemies.”
The New York Times and other news outlets reported last month that Oath Keepers were allegedly seen providing security to Stone — a longtime advisor of Trump, convicted felon and self-described “dirty trickster” — near the White House on the morning of Jan. 6.
Photos of that pre-riot rally showed James and other Oath Keepers providing security “to a speaker at the ‘Stop the Steal’ events planned for that day,” according to the criminal complaint.
Trump and his supporters have been using the phrase “stop the steal” to promote false conspiracy theories that President Joe Biden did not win November’s election.
“James and other Oath Keepers stormed the Capitol, forcing a halt to the certification of the Electoral College vote,” according to the complaint.
James was sporting “military-style attire and gear” with the Oath Keepers logo in pictures showing him outside and inside the Capitol that day, the complaint said.
James’ federal public defender could not be immediately reached for comment on Wednesday and no one picked up the line at his business.
His bail hearing is set for Thursday in Birmingham.
Helen Kwong contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
