A second Oath Keeper has pleaded guilty to seditious conspiracy and agreed to cooperate with the January 6 investigation

• A second Oath Keeper agreed to provide "substantial assistance" to the January 6 investigation.
• Brian Ulrich was charged with seditious conspiracy in connection with his role in the Capitol siege.

An alleged member of the far-right Oath Keepers armed group pleaded guilty Friday to a seditious conspiracy charge stemming from the Capitol attack and agreed to provide "substantial assistance" with the Justice Department's ongoing investigation into the January 6, 2021, insurrection.

Brian Ulrich, 44, was indicted in January along with 10 others, including Oath Keepers leader Elmer Stewart Rhodes, on charges that they coordinated a wide-ranging plot to forcibly disrupt the certification of the 2020 presidential election results. In the indictment, federal prosecutors alleged that the plot included so-called "quick reaction forces" and a cache of weapons stored in a hotel room outside Washington, DC.

The seditious conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. It is perhaps the most serious charge prosecutors have brought in the nearly 800 criminal prosecutions stemming from the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

During a virtual hearing Friday, Ulrich appeared to grow emotional as Judge Amit Mehta informed him of the possible prison sentence and a maximum fine of $250,000. At one point in the virtual hearing, Mehta asked Ulrich if he needed a moment.

"It's not going to get any easier," Ulrich replied.

Ulrich became the second accused Oath Keeper to plead guilty to seditious conspiracy. In early March, Joshua James pleaded guilty as part of a similar deal with the Justice Department requiring him to cooperate with the January 6 investigation.

In court documents, prosecutors alleged that Oath Keepers communicated over Signal — an encrypted messaging app — as they arranged to travel to Washington, DC, with paramilitary gear and supplies including firearms, tactical vests with plates, helmets, and radio equipment.

According to the indictment, Ulrich joined an invitation-only Signal group titled "DC OP: Jan 6 21" on New Year's Eve in 2020.

"The more patriots the merrier 'gonna be wild," he wrote in one message, according to prosecutors.

"I will be the guy running around with the budget AR," he added, in an apparent reference to an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle.

On January 6, prosecutors said, Ulrich rode in a golf cart to the Capitol, sometimes swerving around law enforcement. Once at the Capitol, Ulrich stood by two other alleged Oath Keepers as they taunted police officers guarding the Capitol building.

Ulrich later joined a military-style "stack" formation and entered the Capitol through the east side rotunda doors, prosecutors said.

Rhodes, the Oath Keepers leader, has remained behind bars since his arrest earlier this year on charges linked to the January 6 attack. At a February hearing, Rhodes's defense lawyer noted that the Oath Keepers leader never gave the order to activate the "quick reaction force" that was on standby to bring weapons to Washington, DC.

But Mehta found that Rhodes posed a "clear danger" and ruled there were no conditions for his release that would ensure the public's safety.

Ulrich, for his part, has been free on his own recognizance as he's faced charges stemming from January 6.

Mehta is set to hear arguments later Friday on whether to release another accused Oath Keeper, Edward Vallejo, who was charged with overseeing the "quick reaction force."

In court papers arguing for his continued detention, prosecutors pointed to a recorded call from jail in which Vallejo appeared to instruct his wife to conceal possible evidence against him.

"In addition to being a danger to the community, Vallejo appears to be obstructing justice even while held and communicating on a recorded line," prosecutors said. "If released, there are certainly no conditions that can assure that he would not attempt further obstruction."