A member of the Oath Keepers extremist group from New Jersey who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and bragged about it in textual content messages pleaded responsible on Tuesday to obstructing Congress.
James Breheny, who’s also called Seamus Evers, of Little Ferry, pleaded responsible in Washington’s federal courtroom to a felony cost of obstructing Congress’ certification of President Joe Biden’s electoral victory over former President Donald Trump.
Breheny’s legal professional mentioned his consumer, a Navy veteran, entered the responsible plea to “make amends for an absence of excellent judgement on Jan. 6, 2021.”
“His historical past as a veteran and a law-abiding citizen is clearly extra indicative of who he’s then his getting into the Capitol and taking a photograph of himself and leaving,” protection legal professional Harley Breite mentioned.
Breheny was not charged with conspiring with different members of the far-right group, together with its founder Stewart Rhodes.
In some of the severe instances introduced by the Justice Division, Rhodes and 5 different Oath Keepers had been convicted of seditious conspiracy for what prosecutors say was a weekslong plot to cease the switch of presidential energy. Extra Oath Keepers had been individually convicted of conspiring to hinder the certification of Biden’s victory.
Rhodes, of Granbury, Texas, was sentenced final month to 18 years behind bars — the longest sentence handed down up to now within the a whole bunch of Jan. 6 instances.
Court docket papers say that on the morning of Jan. 6, Rhodes invited Breheny — who was the Bergen County coordinator for the Oath Keepers’ New Jersey chapter — to a sign chat with different members titled “DC OP: Jan 6 21.” Breheny did not ship any messages within the chat, his legal professional mentioned.
Breheny entered the Capitol shortly after a bunch of Oath Keepers breached the constructing in military-style “stack” formation, based on assertion of offense Breheny agreed to as a part of his plea deal. After the riot, he despatched a number of messages to others bragging about going contained in the Capitol. In a single message he wrote: “We breached the door Child.”
Two days after the riot, somebody warned him to delete all his footage and messages and get a brand new telephone. He deleted pictures exhibiting himself contained in the Capitol and deleted his Fb account, prosecutors mentioned.
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