Politics- James Beeks was arrested Tuesday on charges related to the Jan. 6 insurrection, the DOJ said.
- Beeks went to the Capitol with Oath Keepers and was part of a group that "attacked law enforcement," it said.
An actor who played Judas on "
James Beeks, 49, was arrested in Milwaukee on Tuesday on charges related to the insurrection, the US attorney's office for the District of Columbia said.
Beeks, who is from Orlando, Florida, "joined with a group of Oath Keepers while walking from the Ellipse to the Capitol" and subsequently joined "a mob of people, including some who attacked law enforcement," the statement said.
A number of other Oath Keepers, a right-wing fringe organization, have been charged in relation to the January 6 riot.
Law enforcement officials trying to identify Beeks from footage taken on the Capitol complex struggled to find images of his face, but were able to identify him by a partial shot of his ear, the FBI said in a November 18 statement of facts.
"A photograph of Beeks's [sic] right ear while at the Capitol appears similar to Beeks's [sic] right ear as seen on a video of Beeks on Beeks's [sic] YouTube page," the document said.
Beeks is a current cast member on the US tour of "Jesus Christ Superstar," acting under the stage name James T. Justis, the document said.
Beeks was playing the role of Judas, one of Jesus' disciples who ultimately betrayed him.
Earlier this month a number of US law enforcement officers traveled to San Francisco and Los Angeles to watch Beeks on stage, the document said.
The Really Useful Group, the tour organizers, did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
The DOJ statement issued Tuesday noted that, while most of the people storming the Capitol on January 6 wore camouflage or combat gear, Beeks wore "a Michael Jackson 'BAD' world tour jacket," a black helmet, and "a homemade black shield."
Beeks has described himself as "Top Michael Jackson Tribute artist" on his YouTube page.
As of Monday, at least 702 other people had been charged in connection with the January 6 riot. The DOJ said that since January 6, more than 675 people had been arrested over the US Capitol breach.