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James Beeks, a 49-year-old Broadway actor from Orlando, was arrested and charged on suspicion of being involved in the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. However, on Wednesday, Beeks was acquitted of all the charges in court.
On November 24, 2021, authorities took James Beeks into custody while he was at a theatre in Minneapolis. He was charged with six counts, including conspiracy to defraud the US, tampering with a witness, destruction of government property, and civil disorder. According to prosecutors, James Beeks was a member of the Oath Keepers.
The 49-year-old actor opted to represent himself and was further tried by Judge Amit Mehta. Court records confirmed that the judge had acquitted him on two charges. As per Mehta, the US Department of Justice couldn’t provide the conspiracy charge against James Beeks.
Orlando actor James Beeks was taken into custody in November 2021 in connection to the attack on the US Capitol in January
On November 24, 2021, while Beeks was starring as Judas in the national touring company of Jesus Christ Superstar in a Minneapolis theatre, he was arrested by cops. They accused him of being involved in the attack on the US Capitol in the same year in January. He was facing a conspiracy charge amongst several other charges. Prosecutors claimed that he joined members of The Oath Keepers on January 6, and attacked the US Capitol.
However, James Beeks said:
“Innocent before proven guilty. If I get a chance to get a fair trial, I would hopefully be exonerated in this.”
After Judge Amit Mehta acquitted him of two charges, prosecutors decided to drop the rest of the charges as well. Aside from being a Broadway actor, James Beeks was also a TV personality. After getting arrested, he and other defendants attempted to shift the case outside of Washington, DC. Later, Beeks chose to represent himself in the court.
Attorney Greg Hunter was appointed “standby counsel” to make sure that everything went fine in court. Mehta spoke about the case, stating:
“I just can’t get there based on this stipulated evidence.”
In a docket entry, he wrote:
“For reasons stated on the record, the Court finds Defendant James Beeks NOT GUILTY
The evidences submitted and shown during the court proceedings were not enough to consider Beeks guilty of his charges
Meanwhile, Beeks asserted that he was being "duped" as he claimed to have known anything regarding the group leading the January 6, 2021, Capitol riots.
“I was duped. I didn’t know anything about them. I didn’t know what the ulterior motives were.”
Judge Mehta then stated that there was no piece of evidence to prove that the defendant was involved in the online planning chats with the group. The government presented video footage that captured Beeks walking by the top deputy of the Oath Keepers, Kelly Meggs. They claimed that it was a part of the plan to block the Congress’ proceeding. Mehta, however, dismissed the evidence and stated that it wasn’t enough. He said:
“Whatever was said during that huddle, I’m not convinced Mr. Beeks heard it.”
The trial for Beeks happened just after The Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and five other co-defendants were found guilty of seditious conspiracy. Rhodes had been sentenced to 18 years in jail. Beeks is the only defendant related to the Capitol US attack incident, who has been acquitted of all the charges.
