Feds bust Oath Keeper, Michael Jackson impersonator

A professional Broadway actor who has been performing as Judas in “Jesus Christ Superstar,” and who also does Michael Jackson impersonations, was arrested Tuesday for invading the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 with fellow members of the extremist Oath Keepers group.

James Beeks, 49, was wearing what appears to be his replica Michael Jackson “Bad” tour jacket when he marched in a so-called stack formation with other Oath Keepers up the Capitol’s east steps and “stormed into” the complex with “a mob of people” through doors guarded by police officers, a court filing shows.

Beeks’ “Bad” garb made him stand out from other Oath Keepers, many of whom wore camouflage during the riot, according to authorities.

The Orlando, Florida, resident, who performs under the stage name James T. Justis, was seen earlier this month by authorities performing as Judas in a national touring company of “Jesus Christ Superstar” in San Francisco and Los Angeles, the filing says.

Beeks previously appeared on Broadway in “Kinky Boots,” “Aida,” “Ragtime,” and “Smokey Joe’s Cafe.”

His YouTube page, which has the username “jdmoonwalker … describes him as ‘one of the Top Michael Jackson Tribute artists in the US,'” the filing says.

Last December, Beeks made an annual membership payment to Oath Keepers Inc., according to the filing.

Beeks was arrested in Milwaukee, where his show began performances Tuesday. He was released after appearing in federal court in Wisconsin.

He is charged with obstructing a proceeding of Congress, and with entering restricted grounds with the purpose of disrupting government business.

The case is being prosecuted in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., where more than 15 other Oath Keepers and more than 600 other riot defendants are also charged in connection with the assault on the Capitol.

That riot began after two months of false claims by then-President Donald Trump that he actually won the 2020 election, and that President Joe Biden‘s victory was only the result of widespread ballot fraud.

On Jan. 6, Trump spoke at a rally for supporters outside the White House. He urged the crowd to march to the Capitol and protest what was then an ongoing joint session of Congress in the process of confirming Biden’s Electoral College win.

Then-Vice President Mike Pence was presiding over that session and ended up accepting the results, despite arguments by Trump and other allies that he should reject them.