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Alleged Oath Keeper member set to become first to plead guilty in Capitol riot conspiracy case

Graydon Young, 54, an alleged Oath Keeper from Florida who participated in the Capitol riot. (Pinellas County Sheriff's Office)
Graydon Young, 54, an alleged Oath Keeper from Florida who participated in the Capitol riot. (Pinellas County Sheriff's Office)

A man accused of being a member of the Oath Keepers who participated in the Capitol riot is expected to plead guilty to charges stemming from the incident, making him the first accused member of an extremist group to do so.

Graydon Young, 54, of Florida, is expected to plead guilty on Wednesday. He is charged in a 16-person conspiracy case revolving around the Oath Keepers.

Prior to his involvement in the Oath Keepers, Mr Young served in the US Navy Reserve and the US Army Reserve.

Mr Young – who went by “GenXPatriot” – will be the first individual charged in a conspiracy case resulting from the 6 January attacks. He is included in a 16-person conspiracy case against the Oath Keepers, a right-wing extremist gang. His sister, who also attended the riot, has also been implicated as a member of the gang.

The man joined the paramilitary gang sometime before 6 January and was soliciting recruits on Facebook in December.

Mr Young was arrested in Tampa, Florida in February and was then turned over to US Marshals.

He has been charged with six crimes, which include conspiracy and aiding and abetting the obstruction of the congressional proceeding.

Prosecutors in the case allege that Mr Young was part of “the stack”, which was a group of militants who formed a line to cut through the crowds in order to enter the Capitol quickly.

Although he is expected to plead guilty, it is not yet known if he will cooperate with investigators in their ongoing investigation into the 6 January attack.

Mr Young's co-defendants in the conspiracy case are contesting the charges being brought against them.

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