GOOD FIRST STEPS:

Halting twice to choke back sobs, Young said he pleaded guilty because he had committed crimes, and that in order "to repent and be forgiven, you have to confess. Completely and wholly."

"I won't do anything like that ever again," he said. "It's really embarrassing."

Young's testimony provided jurors with a firsthand account of the Oath Keepers' preparation to travel to Washington ahead of Jan. 6 and their decision to join the crowd that surged past police and into the Capitol. He is one of the prosecutors' key witnesses in the seditious conspiracy trial of Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes and four associates, Kelly Meggs, Kenneth Harrelson, Jessica Watkins and Thomas Caldwell.

Young's testimony was the second time a member of the group who pleaded guilty to participating in the conspiracy took the stand against his former colleagues. Jason Dolan, another Florida Oath Keeper, testified earlier in the month.

Dolan and Young both described struggles amid the Covid pandemic, combined with a deluge of pro-Trump media that fueled their beliefs that the 2020 election had been stolen. Young described an unhealthy diet of Facebook and YouTube content that he said left him "ginned up" about the election results. He withdrew from his family and became consumed by national politics, which led him to join the Oath Keepers in the weeks after Election Day 2020. His sister, Laura Steele, a fellow Oath Keeper, is awaiting trial for her part in the alleged obstruction conspiracy.

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