Florida Oath Keeper Pleads Guilty In U.S. Capitol Riot Case: DOJ

ENGLEWOOD, FL — A 54-year-old Englewood man is the first to plead guilty in a 16-person, Oath Keeper-affiliated conspiracy case arising from the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot.

Graydon Young pleaded guilty Wednesday to crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, which disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress that was in the process of counting the electoral votes related to the presidential election, the Department of Justice said in a news release.

Young pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and obstruction of justice. He faces up to 20 years in prison for obstruction of Congress and up to five years in prison for conspiracy as well as three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine, the DOJ said.

According to court documents, Young, who served in the U.S. Army Reserve and the U.S. Navy Reserve, coordinated with others — some of whom are affiliated with the Oath Keepers, a far-right, anti-government militia organization — in advance of his activities in Washington on Jan. 6. They planned operational security and used encrypted messaging applications to communicate, the DOJ said.

On Jan. 4, Young flew from Florida to North Carolina and drove with at least one co-conspirator to the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area the next day. On the morning of Jan. 6, he met up with some other co-conspirators near the White House. In the early afternoon, Young marched with some of them toward the U.S. Capitol, the DOJ said.

Young admitted to unlawfully entering the U.S. Capitol around 2:28 p.m. and, around 2:40 p.m., joining co-conspirators to walk up the east side of the building, the DOJ said.

He said that when he entered the building, he and the co-conspirators were trying to obstruct, influence and impede an official proceeding, specifically Congress’ certification of the Electoral College vote, according to the DOJ. Young admitted to intending to stop or delay the Congressional proceeding by intimidating and coercing government personnel who were participating in or supporting the proceeding.

Around 3:05 p.m., Young exited the Capitol and, around 4:22 p.m., posted to Facebook, “We stormed and got inside.” He deleted his Facebook account two days later, the DOJ said.

Young was initially arrested in February, along with five others. He’s remained in custody ever since, though his attorney attempted to get him released because he was enduring “psychological burdens” in jail.