The Up-Charging of James

Joshua James is a Veteran and a recipient of the Purple Heart, given to him for sustaining serious physical injuries as a result of enemy action while serving in the U.S. military in Iraq.  Mr. James has now accepted a plea deal to a charge of “Seditious Conspiracy,” relating to the events of January 6.

On the evening TV news reports Tuesday night, he had no name.  He was just “the first Oath Keeper” to accept a deal of “seditious conspiracy” or to “admit to a charge of seditious conspiracy.”  The plea deal went into the record at a 5:00 p.m. via video court appearance with Judge Mehta in Washington, D.C.

Where James’ Legal Odyssey Began

In August 2021, I wrote a 2-part blog, about Mr. James the man, the Veteran, the charges, the pre-trial detention hearings and rulings, and the seven minutes the DOJ alleged he spent inside the Capitol, interacting with law enforcement.  You may remember Mr. James as the man I described in this blog and on several radio shows as the guy in the golf cart commandeered by Mr. Roberto Minuta.  Mr. James is the guy who had to Google to get directions from the Ellipse (where President Trump spoke) to the Capitol, where events were already more than two hours underway.

Mr. James was first charged in March 2021 with two crimes:  “Obstruction of an Official Proceeding/Aiding and Abetting” and “Restricted Building or Grounds.”  That was on March 8, 2021 and it was a separate criminal complaint.  (Others tagged as “Oath Keepers” had already been started to be charged as early as January 16, 2021.)

Mr. James then went through multiple detention hearings in March and April 2021, including witnesses and evidence, over whether he would be released pre-trial.  These hearings and motions for reconsideration of detention took place in multiple courtrooms both in his home state of Alabama and in Washington, D.C.  There was testimony, cross-examination, evidence, and even a judicial ruling that if there was anything that could have been called a plan that it came together in the minutes prior to Mr. James and several other defendants to actually enter the Capitol grounds.  He was released on personal recognizance with conditions on March 26, 2021.

Mr. James was originally scheduled to go to trial January 16, 2021.  It got moved to April, 2002, then July 2022, then November 2022.

The Up-Charges

Mr. James was not charged with “Seditious Conspiracy” until Stewart Rhodes was charged a year later in January 2022. 

In plain English, here’s the play-by-play on how the DOJ up-charged Mr. James over the course of a year:

• 03/08/2021: James’ individual criminal complaint contained two charges - obstruction proceeding; trespass

• 03/31/2021: James merged into “Third Superseding Indictment” of a group of other defendants – charges of conspiracy, obstruction, trespass (that case was already underway since 01/16/2021)

• 05/26/2021:  “Fourth Superseding Indictment” – charges of conspiracy, obstruction, trespass, civil disorder, assault/resisting, tampering/destruction evidence 

• 08/04/2021: “Fifth Superseding Indictment” – (continued the same charges)

• 12/01/2021:  “Sixth Superseding Indictment” – (continued the same charges)

• 01/12/2022:  “Indictment” – all prior charges plus “Conspiracy to Obstruct an Official Proceeding” and “Seditious Conspiracy,” drop charge of “Conspiracy”

The final up-charge against Mr. James occurred on January 12, 2022, when the “Seventh Superseding Indictment” was filed in a manner that reconfigured many of the defendants who were previously grouped together, and split off multiple of them.  For Mr. James, the first criminal complaint was against him, alone.  He was then merged into a case titled U.S.A. vs. Thomas Edward Caldwell, et al.  In the reconfiguration, he was grouped in the case titled U.S.A. vs. Elmer Stewart Rhodes, III, et al.

The top charge against Rhodes of “Seditious Conspiracy” became the top charge against his co-defendants.

You can see why I have been hesitant to try to lay out for you this mass of documents and date jockeying all in one blog.  There are twenty-four (24) what I call “core defendants” that I have been covering in great detail since January 6.  Mr. James is in that core group.  With every “superseding indictment,” the DOJ used tactics of up-charging defendants and even completely changing charges.  Initially, the DOJ kept vying for time to bring more and more electronic surveillance data against the defendants.  Eventually, it was defense counsel, asking for adjournments because of the volume of that data once it became accessible.

No, Mr. James, recipient of the Purple Heart, a young man who, at just 19-years of age was blown up – literally. Now a 33-year old man who was defeated by the DOJ legal strategy of continually up-charging the defendants to try to squeeze out someone who would take the fall so that they could have their narrative.

Mr. James is married to Audrey, and is the father of three, Alivia (14 years old), Quinton (11 years old), and Wyatt (3 years old).  He owns a small business and, basis the letters people wrote in his support to judges during detention hearings, he is a fixer and a helper.  Mr. James was also described to volunteer in communities in Florida, Texas, and Alabama after hurricane and tornado damage.

Mr. James is an American, who has been snagged as a pawn in the fight over the narrative of January 6.

There Was No “Insurrection.” 

On January 8, 2022, Mr. Rhodes was charged with “Seditious Conspiracy” and that is the highest pending charge against anyone.  No one among the more than 700 defendants charged has been charged with “Insurrection.”

That charge of Rhodes?  That apex of a year of public relations campaign by DOJ?  It sucked up a guy like Joshua James in its wake.  And, if we are to believe the “Statement of Offense” that accompanies the plea deal, Mr. Rhodes may literally have sucked up and left people like Joshua James in his wake, too.

Not one day of trial has been conducted against the twenty-four men and women who have been repeatedly up-charged since January 6.  Sun Tzu might find this strategy worthy of his review and comment.

Mr. James faces a recommended sentence as part of his plea deal of seven to nine years in federal prison plus a fine in the range of $30,000 to $300,000.  The terms include the now‑infamous “Paragraph 9,” which contains, among other provisions: Mr. James may be asked to participate in covert law enforcement activities without limit.

Because he has taken a plea, Mr. James is foreclosed from presenting his side of the story in the context of a trial where the government has the burden of proof.  He has been put into a position to waive constitutional rights he fought valiantly to defend through his U.S. military service in Iraq.

A status report is due to the court in the case by June 2, 2022.

Please be welcomed to listen to my 1-hour guest appearance on “Lock-N-Load” with Bill Frady, which aired on March 3, 2022 for more information about Mr. James, his case, and the plea deal.