Bench trial set for two Oath Keepers, an ex-actor and ex-Marine

An ex-Broadway actor and an ex-Marine — both members of the right-wing militia Oath Keepers — will face trial for their alleged roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.  

James Beeks and Donovan Crowl waived their right to a trial by jury, instead opting for a stipulated bench trial starting Monday before U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta, according to court filings. A third co-defendant, former Oath Keepers lawyer Kellye SoRelle, was determined to be mentally incompetent to stand trial.  

Carmen Hernandez, Crowl’s attorney, told The Hill that the men will be tried on two felony counts: conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and civil disorder. Three other felony counts plus a misdemeanor would be dismissed at the end of the proceedings. 

Because Beeks and Crowl declined a jury trial in favor of a stipulated bench trial — which requires agreement between the defendants and the Justice Department on certain facts — they could argue that a sentence reduction is warranted for acceptance of guilt if convicted.  

The Justice Department and Oath Keepers’s defense attorneys were still discussing which evidence would be stipulated as of Thursday, according to Hernandez. 

Both defendants are accused of joining with other Oath Keepers in military-style “stack” formations to enter the Capitol.  

Prosecutors say Beeks stood out from other Oath Keepers on Jan. 6, donning a Michael Jackson “BAD” world tour jacket instead of the camouflage paramilitary gear other members of the group wore that day. The Florida native was an actor and Michael Jackson impersonator, described on his YouTube page as “one of the Top Michael Jackson Tribute artists in the US,” according to the Justice Department. He was playing Judas in a national tour of the musical “Jesus Christ Superstar” before his arrest in connection with the riot.  

Once inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, Beeks tried to push through a line of law enforcement officers guarding the hallway leading to the Senate chamber, according to court filings. He is representing himself at trial.  

Crowl came to Washington in January 2021 with the Ohio State Regular Militia, a dues-paying subset of the Oath Keepers, according to court documents. That group was led by Jessica Watkins, an Oath Keepers leader tried for seditious conspiracy last year alongside the group’s founder, Stewart Rhodes. Watkins was acquitted of sedition but convicted of several other serious felonies and sentenced to eight and a half years in prison. 

Prosecutors claim that Crowl and Watkins “equipped themselves for battle” Jan. 6, wearing reinforced vests, camouflage helmets and goggles. Crowl filmed himself inside the Capitol saying, “We took on the Capitol! We overran the Capitol!” according to court filings.  

A former U.S. Marine, Crowl was one of the first rioters identified after giving an interview to The New Yorker days after Jan. 6, where he confirmed he entered the Capitol. He also said he was in Washington to “do security” for unnamed “VIPs,” an argument made by several other Oath Keepers during their trials.  

The pair is the fourth set of Oath Keepers to stand trial for charges linked to the Capitol riot.  

Six of the nine Oath Keepers tried for seditious conspiracy for their roles in plotting to stop the certification of the 2020 election have been convicted, including Rhodes, the group’s leader. Other members of the group have been convicted of additional serious felonies.  

Mehta, the judge overseeing the Oath Keepers cases linked to the riot, sentenced Rhodes to 18 years in prison in May. Prosecutors described Rhodes as the “orchestrator of this conspiracy and the architect of the plan” during his trial last year. 

More than 1,000 rioters from across the country have been charged in connection with the Capitol attack, according to the Justice Department’s most recent count.