Second Oath Keeper pleads guilty in Capitol attack

Guy Lucas, The High Point Enterprise, N.C.
·2 min read

Jun. 24—WASHINGTON — A Florida man who encouraged his sister in Thomasville to join a group that wound up under investigation for its actions in the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol agreed Wednesday to help prosecutors with that investigation.

Graydon Young, 55, of Englewood, Florida, is the second member of the Oath Keepers militia group to plead guilty and agree to cooperate with prosecutors.

Young pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia to conspiracy and obstruction of an official proceeding.

Young is the brother of Laura Lee Steele, 52, of Thomasville, and both were among 16 members of the Oath Keepers accused in an indictment of organizing to go to Washington with weapons and participating in the storming of the Capitol to try to prevent Congress from certifying the Electoral College vote that made Joe Biden president over former President Donald Trump. The indictment says Young encouraged Steele to join the Oath Keepers just days before Jan. 6, and the two traveled to Washington together.

Judge Amit Mehta said that a preliminary evaluation indicates that the prison sentence Young could face under federal sentencing guidelines is 63 to 78 months. However, prosecutors could recommend a reduction based on the extent of Young's cooperation, he said.

Nearly 500 people have been charged in connection with the storming of the Capitol.

Young's plea agreement also calls for him to pay $2,000 in restitution toward the more than $1.5 million in damage to the Capitol caused by the rioters.

Mehta said he will schedule a hearing in two months for an update from Young's attorney and prosecutors.

During a hearing in Steele's case on June 1, a prosecutor indicated that plea negotiations with Steele's attorney and others named in the indictment were imminent.

Young was one of three people charged in the Capitol breach to plead guilty Wednesday.

Anna Morgan-Lloyd of Bloomington, Indiana, pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building. She was the first Jan. 6 defendant to be sentenced, getting three years on probation but no prison sentence.

Robert Reeder of Harford County, Maryland, pleaded guilty to the same charge but will not be sentenced until August.