All sorts of people joined the insurrectionists in their Capitol Building attack on January 6. One of the least likely among them is a guy named Judas, at least that is the character he played in the musical Jesus Christ Superstar. The guy is also a Michael Jackson impersonator, so why was he hanging out with the white nationalist group, the Oath Keepers?
Maybe, he just had not found himself yet. His acting name was James T. Justis, but James Beeks is his real name. Federal agents arrested the 49-year-old Broadway actor, but not before they checked out two of his shows in California, The POLITICO reported. He certainly appeared on camera along with 12 Oath Keepers as the mob pressed forward.
Thus far, over 700 people have been arrested for storming our Capitol. Apparently, Beeks was the only one who also appeared in Aida, Kinky Boots, and Ragtime. The FBI referred to him as “Defendant 4.”
The agents said his Michael Jackson jacket was key in identifying him, according to the government’s case against him:
‘Law enforcement was further able to corroborate Beeks’s possession of the black jacket that appears consistent with the one he was seen wearing on January 6, 2021. The jacket appears to be from Michael Jackson’s BAD world tour, which started in 1987.’
‘Beeks has an additional connection to Michael Jackson: According to his LinkedIn profile and YouTube page, Beeks regularly performs as a Michael Jackson impersonator.’
The FBI agent handling his case spoke about photographic forensics that helped identify Beeks, specifically his ear:
‘While law enforcement was not able to locate a photograph or video of Beeks at the Capitol with his full face visible (because of his helmet and gaiter), law enforcement was able to make a comparison based on his visible ear. Specifically, a photograph of Beeks’s right ear while at the Capitol appears similar to Beeks’s right ear as seen on a video of Beeks on Beeks’s YouTube page.’
The actor paid his dues to the Oath Keepers just weeks before the failed coup. His credit cards and phone placed him in Northern Virginia the day before the attack. Charges against him could include “obstruction and trespassing in a restricted building.”
Several months before the attack, Beeks did an interview with The Equality365. The interviewer asked him whether the problems Donald Trump generated had anything to do with how he played Judas. He replied that he did not see Judas as a “bad guy:”
‘I don’t look at it as Judas being a bad guy. I think he is a hero. I am honored to be the archetype of Judas and to give him a voice. Myself, being a person of color, I cherish that. I think that we’ve been told we have to question society. I want people to look at Judas in a different light and from different perspectives. He wasn’t a bad guy, and was only doing what he had to do.’
Three White Lions podcast, Gloria Christie reads her week’s most important news/ commentary stories in the liberal online newspaper The Bipartisan Report. Gloria Christie Report her newsletter for people on the go. Written in her own unique style with a twist of humor in a briefer version of Bipartisan Report. Christie’s Mueller Report Adventures In Bite-Sizes a real-life compelling spy mystery (in progress). Find her here on Facebook.
