Yet another man who acted as a bodyguard for Roger Stone has been charged with entering the Capitol on Jan. 6, expanding the circle of militia group members who were spotted guarding Stone and then allegedly participated in the attack on Congress.
Joshua James was charged with entering a restricted building, and obstructing an official proceeding and aiding and abetting, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday and unsealed Tuesday.
But an FBI agent’s affidavit in support of his arrest reveals prosecutors’ focus on the alleged VIP security operation run by several members of the Oath Keepers.
According to the affidavit, James, a number of people wearing Oath Keepers apparel and an unidentified “Person Five” provided security for a speaker at “Stop the Steal” events on Jan. 5. Person Five allegedly led the effort. The affidavit identifies James as one of several Oath Keepers in a New York Times report about men who guarded Roger Stone and later took part in the Capitol attack.
James allegedly exchanged a series of phone calls with Person Five in the months leading up to the Capitol attack. On Jan. 6 itself, Person five stood with James and allegedly “aggressively taunted and berated” law enforcement. James was subsequently photographed in the building, the affidavit alleged, and cell phone records belonging to him and Person Five show they utilized a cell site that provided service to an area including the inside of the Capitol.
According to the Times report, several people who provided security for Stone later entered the Capitol on Jan. 6. Federal investigators are reportedly looking into whether Stone or other high-profile figures like the conspiracy theorist Alex Jones may have played a role in the attack, even if they did not enter the Capitol Building.
The question of links between Stone and Capitol rioters came after he was recorded on video — first reported by ABC News — on Jan. 5 and 6 with several Oath Keepers militia members who he has said were providing security. Stone spoke at a rally the night prior to the Capitol attack, arriving in a golf cart flanked by members of the Oath Keepers, and appeared with several Oath Keeper guards the next morning outside of the Willard InterContinental hotel.
Stone wrote on Feb. 10 that he “saw no evidence whatsoever of illegal activity by any members” of the militia group during the riot.
In a statement to the Times last month, Stone denied “any involvement or knowledge of the attack on the Capitol.”
On Monday, the FBI announced that they had arrested Robero Minuta, a member of the Oath Keepers and one of Stone’s guards who subsequently, prosecutors allege, “forcibly stormed the U.S. Capitol equipped with military-style gear for the purpose of obstructing the Congressional proceeding occurring.”
Another alleged conspirator, Jessica Watkins, has claimed in court filings that she was at the Capitol in part to provide VIP security. In a court filing Monday opposing the release of another alleged Oath Keeper who allegedly participated in a conspiracy to attack the Capitol, prosecutors revealed that the leader of the Oath Keepers, Stewart Rhodes, was in touch on the day of the riot with multiple people later charged in the attack.
