ORLANDO, Fla. – An Orlando performer acquitted on charges connected to the attack on the U.S. Capitol said he was shocked when a federal judge found him not guilty.
James DeLisco Beeks was arrested in Milwaukee in November 2021 while he was performing as Judas in the national tour of “Jesus Christ Superstar.”
Federal prosecutors claimed Beeks was a member of the alt-right group the Oath Keepers, and they pointed to him in several pieces of video showing him with other members of the group climbing the steps of the U.S. Capitol in a “stack, military-like formation.”
Beeks told News 6 in January he had just joined the Oath Keepers a couple weeks before Jan. 6, and he was not part of any conspiracy.
On July 12, Federal Judge Amit Mehta agreed, finding Beeks not guilty in his bench trial.
Mehta presided over the trials of Oath Keepers national leader Elmer Stewart Rhodes and Florida leader Kelly Meggs, both of whom were found guilty of seditious conspiracy.
“It all came down to intent, and the government cannot prove without a shadow of a doubt and without a reasonable doubt that I intended to go in and do that,” Beeks told News 6 this week.
There are only two others who have been acquitted out of more than 1,000 people arrested as a result of the U.S. Department of Justice investigation.
News 6: Why did you decide to join the Oath Keepers to start with?
Beeks: There was a “Stop The Steal” rally in Orlando, and I went down there to sing the National Anthem, and, I had some tactical gear on. I was there to protect people because we all know what the climate was in the summer of 2020 and all throughout that whole election year. There was a lot of a lot of violence and chaos at that time. My intention was to be on the defensive mode as opposed to being on the offensive.
News 6: Did it surprise you when the leaders of the Oath Keepers ended up on the offensive side?
Beeks: Well, yeah, it was. I didn’t learn until after the event all the stuff that was going on. I was like, “Oh my God, really?” I had nothing to do with that. I didn’t have any access to any private chats or anything that was going on—all those signal chats that got them incriminated. I had no idea. I got in with the wrong crowd, you know?
News 6: Are you angry about that?
Beeks: It’s just mixed emotions there. I mean, I didn’t have time to think about a lot of things because I was, you know, these accusations were against me, and I had to, you know, fight them off. Yeah, I mean, what can I do? I mean, at least I didn’t get, you know, buried for it.
News 6: You represented yourself through this whole case.
Beeks: I presented my own action. Yes.
News 6: That was a lot of weight on your shoulders.
Beeks: Yeah. I mean, I feel like nobody’s going to fight better than me, and so it just made sense for me to do this as a man to stand up in my unalienable rights and tell the truth, and my truth was intent. You know, did I intentionally go in there to do these do these things that they accused me of? No, no, that’s plain and simple.
News 6: You know what they say about somebody who represents themselves in court?
Beeks: Oh, yeah. Well, I proved them wrong, huh?
News 6: You’ve lost two years of your life because of this.
Beeks: Yeah.
News 6: A lot of people would be really mad about that.
Beeks: Um, yeah. Yeah.
News 6: Do you feel like you have to salvage your reputation?
Beeks: Well, it’s been shattered. I don’t know if I’ll be able to go to a Broadway audition again, you know, with this behind me. It’s kind of like a scarlet letter just being in that orbit.
Beeks told News 6 he is currently writing a book that will detail his life.
“It just tells my story of how a foster kid whose first memories of being in the foster care system abused and abandoned and getting out of that utter abuse, living in poverty to finding my voice and singing and living my dreams, becoming a five-time Broadway star, becoming a four passport holder or going to travel the world and to get to beat this and to beat the odds. I have a story to tell. So, hopefully people will be interested,” he said.
Beeks said he’s not ruling out a return to the stage, but he said only time will tell.
“I get it,” he said. “Just because I was there, some people will never probably accept me, but, you know, I’ve made a mistake, and I’m asking for forgiveness.”
Beeks is raising funds to publish his book. More information is available here.
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