ABC News:  “An actor charged with storming the U.S. Capitol as a member of the far-right Oath Keepers militia group nearly talked his way into remaining in jail after a judge heard on Monday that the Florida man was challenging the court’s authority over him. A prosecutor said he wasn’t planning to seek pretrial detention for James Beeks of Orlando, Florida, until learning in court that the actor didn’t accept the court’s jurisdiction over him.

“Beeks, who has performed in a traveling production of the musical ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ and as a Michael Jackson impersonator, initially rejected being represented by an attorney and made comments that the judge called ‘gobbledygook.’ ‘A defendant who rejects the jurisdiction of the court, rejects being subject to the laws of the United States, rejects the rule of law is not typically released pretrial because that person cannot be trusted to comply with the conditions of pretrial release,” Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell warned Beeks during a hearing in federal court in Washington, D.C.

“The production company that employs Beeks said he recently informed the company that he is a ‘sovereign citizen,’ according to prosecutors. During Monday’s hearing, Beeks denied being part of the ‘sovereign citizen’ extremist movement, which believes the U.S. government is illegitimate. His chances of being released from jail seemed to wane as he offered answers that the judge said she couldn’t understand. Then another lawyer, Michelle Peterson, intervened for Beeks. Beeks then let Petersen represent him and was ordered released from jail after agreeing to follow the court-imposed conditions of release, such as agreeing to GPS monitoring, not possessing a gun and not having any contact with members of the Oath Keepers.”