May 1 (UPI) — A second member of the Oath Keepers has pleaded guilty after he was charged with seditious conspiracy and other crimes for the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Brian Ulrich, 44, of Guyton, Ga., pleaded guilty Friday to seditious conspiracy and obstruction of an official proceeding, the certification of President Joe Biden‘s election win, the Justice Department announced.
He is a member of the Georgia chapter of the Oath Keepers, a “large, but loosely organized” anti-government movement, “some of whom are associated with militias,” according to the Justice Department.
Ulrich was among 11 Oath Keepers, including the group’s founder Elmer Stewart Rhodes III, indicted earlier this year in the District of Columbia on seditious conspiracy and other charges, related to the Capital breach.
He is the second of them to plead guilty to seditious conspiracy and obstruction of an official proceeding. Joshua James, a 34-year-old military veteran who led the group’s Alabama chapter, pleaded guilty to the same charges last month.
Both Ulrich and James — from of Arab, Ala. — have agreed to cooperate with the government’s ongoing investigation as part of their plea agreements.
The nine remaining defendants have pleaded not guilty.
Ulrich admitted as part of his guilty plea that he conspired for months with other Oath Keepers to obstruct “the transfer of presidential power,” and they “were prepared to use force to stop the transfer of power,” the Justice Department statement said.
The plotting included “encrypted and private communications,” and gathering weapons, including “combat and tactical gear,” according to the Justice Department statement.
The statement added that Ulrich and other Oath Keepers used a group chat application called “Signal” where he encouraged others in his chapter to join him in Washington, D.C.
“I seriously wonder what it would take just to get every patriot marching around the capital armed?” Ulrich questioned in “Signal” chat on Dec. 5, 2020, the statement noted.
Ulrich added that the point was “to show our government how powerless they are!”
In another chat, Ulrich messaged the group that a “Civil War” may be necessary if Biden became president.
“And if there’s a Civil War then there’s a Civil War,” Ulrich added.
