NJ 'Oath Keeper' In Jan. 6 Capitol Riot Faces New Charges

HACKETTSTOWN, NJ — A former New Jersey Oath Keepers member, Roberto Minuta, formerly of Hackettstown, faces new charges in connection with his participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot, authorities said.

The new charges came following the arrest and indictment announced Thursday of the leader and founder of the Oath Keepers, Elmer Stewart Rhodes III.

The indictment against Rhodes, 56, of Granbury, Texas, includes new seditious conspiracy charges against 11 people including Minuta, 37. The Department of Justice said Minuta now lives in Prosper, Texas, and was one of Rhodes’ co-conspirators in the group. Minuta was with the “second stack” — or “Stack Two" — of people who entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

RELATED: Oath Keepers Leader Arrested, Charged In Jan. 6 Conspiracy

Minuta was previously arrested on March 8, 2021, and charged in a third superseding indictment on March 31, 2021, a fourth on May 26, 2021, and a fifth on Aug. 4, 2021, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. His U.S. Department of Justice online case file states he was released “on personal recognizance,” with previous charges of conspiracy, obstructing of an official proceeding, aiding and abetting and restricted building or ground.

In the list of co-conspirators, Minuta is described in the newest indictment, filed Wednesday, as having been a “resident of Hackettstown, New Jersey, who coordinated directly with Rhodes and assisted [Joshua] James in leading Stack Two on Jan. 6, 2021.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office reports that a status conference in Minuta’s case was held on Aug. 10, with jury trials coming up on Jan. 31 and April 19.

Minuta, a tattoo artist who had a business in Newburgh, New York, has previously been reported by Patch as a lifetime member of the Oath Keepers group and who was bodyguard to former President Donald Trump's adviser, Roger Stone, on Jan. 6.

On that day, the Rhodes indictment states, Minuta entered the Capitol grounds as part of Stack Two and then marched from the “west side to the east side of the Capitol building and up the east stairs” with fellow Oath Keepers Joshua James and Brian Ulrich.

At about 3:15 p.m., the trio entered the building’s Rotunda doors, which the first stack — or “Stack One” — of Oath Keepers had previously entered about 2:38 p.m. Stack One — which included “Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson, Jessica Watkins, Joseph Hackett, David Moerschel and other Oath Keeper members and affiliates” — disarmed and assaulted officers with “pepper spray, flagpoles and numerous improvised weapons and projectiles” before splitting up, the indictment states. Half then reportedly headed “toward the House of Representatives in search of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi,” the indictment states.

Minuta and James “started shouting at officers to ‘get out’ of ‘my Capitol,’ with officers deploying chemical spray in attempts “to stop James, Minuta and others from progressing into the Rotunda,” while James “violently pulled at and pushed his way past officers,” according to the indictment.

According to the newest indictment and previous ones against Minuta, the group started making plans around the November 2020 election to "stop, delay and hinder the Certification of the Electoral College vote" on Jan. 6 and were training in "paramilitary combat tactics." As part of it, the indictments state, Minuta and the others started communicating in a signal group to discuss a "DC OP" for Jan. 6, then he checked into a Hilton hotel in Virginia the night before the riot and reserved another three rooms at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C.

RELATED: New Charges For NJ 'Oath Keeper' For Jan. 6 Capitol Riot

On Jan. 6, Minuta was photographed equipped with battle gear, an earpiece and bear spray, while making phone calls and riding with others in golf carts during the chaos that afternoon, the indictments also read.

Minuta has also been accused of being one of three to abandon the golf cart around 2:30 p.m. on the day of the riots, then head to the Capitol on foot. When they arrived there, they were said to have "aggressively berated and taunted law enforcement officers in riot gear guarding the perimeter of the Capitol building, near the east side of the building," before entering with Stack Two at 3:15 p.m., the indictment states.

Minuta was caught on camera yelling to "Get these cops out," followed with some profanity-laced statements, one of the indictments also reads.

In previous indictments, Minuta, along with 15 others, were charged with obstruction of an official proceeding; aiding and abetting; and entering a restricted building and grounds — while both current Vice President Mike Pence and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris were apparently also on the grounds of the Capitol.

Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.