TAMPA (WFLA) – A Sarasota County man arrested in connection to the January 6 Capitol riot and insurrection has agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors as part of the first plea deal in the conspiracy case involving the Oath Keepers.
During a hearing Wednesday afternoon before a federal judge in Washington D.C., 54-year-old Graydon Young of Englewood agreed to plead guilty to charges of conspiracy and obstruction of an official proceeding.
Young has agreed to provide testimony before a grand jury and at trial, as well as interviews with law enforcement as part of his pledged cooperation with the U.S. government.
Judge Amit Mehta told Young his estimated sentencing guidelines range is 63-78 months in prison, but he added that is a preliminary calculation.
The conspiracy charge carries a maximum of 5 years in prison and the obstruction charge carries a maximum of 20 years in prison, Mehta said.
During the hearing, Young acknowledged he was trying to obstruct the certification by Congress of the 2020 electoral college results.
Young’s attorney had previously argued his client was “duped” into joining the far-right anti-government group, the Oath Keepers.
But prosecutors pointed to his own Facebook post the evening of the attack saying “We stormed and got inside.”
According to the criminal complaint, Young deleted all of his Facebook posts dating back to March 2019 the day after the insurrection, and deleted his entire account on Jan. 8.
