Oath Keeper Pleads Guilty and Will Cooperate in Jan. 6 Riot Inquiry

The plea by a member of the far-right extremist group the Oath Keepers was the first to be entered publicly by any of the more than 400 people who have been charged so far in the attack.

A member of the Oath Keepers militia who was charged in connection with the riot at the Capitol pleaded guilty on Friday and agreed to cooperate with the government — potentially against other members of the far-right extremist group. The guilty plea by the Oath Keeper, Jon Ryan Schaffer, 53, of Indiana, was the first to be entered publicly by any of the more than 400 people who have been charged so far in the Jan. 6 attack. News of the plea emerged last week after sealed documents in Mr. Schaffer’s case were briefly — and accidentally — made available on a federal court database. Mr. Schaffer’s cooperation with the government could prove instrumental in helping prosecutors pursue a separate and much broader conspiracy case against 12 other members of the Oath Keepers who stand accused of some of the most serious charges in the sprawling investigation into the storming of the Capitol. Though he was not charged as part of that case, Mr. Schaffer’s agreement to assist the government was apparently significant enough that prosecutors said at a court hearing on Friday that they would sponsor him for the witness protection program.