A retired Navy intelligence officer who was cleared of probably the most critical costs in his U.S. Capitol assault trial alongside Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes averted extra time behind bars when he was sentenced Friday.
Thomas Caldwell was acquitted by a jury in Washington’s federal court docket of seditious conspiracy and two different conspiracy offenses in one of the critical circumstances introduced by the Justice Division within the Jan. 6, 2021, assault. And certainly one of two counts he was discovered responsible on at trial was dismissed in gentle of a U.S. Supreme Courtroom ruling final yr.
Prosecutors had alleged at trial that Caldwell helped coordinate “fast response pressure” groups prosecutors stated the Oath Keepers stationed outdoors the capital metropolis to get weapons into the fingers of extremists in the event that they have been wanted. The weapons have been by no means deployed, and legal professionals for the Oath Keepers stated they have been solely there for defensive functions in case of assaults from left-wing activists.
However Caldwell, who didn’t enter the Capitol, took the witness stand and performed down messages he despatched main as much as Jan. 6, together with one floating the concept about getting a ship to ferry “heavy weapons” throughout the Potomac River. Caldwell stated he was by no means critical about it, calling it “inventive writing.”
His lawyer famous at trial that Caldwell was a disabled veteran who generally makes use of a cane to stroll, telling jurors he “couldn’t storm his approach out of a paper bag.” Legal professional David Fischer argued that there was no plot to assault the Capitol, saying his consumer wasn’t even planning to go to the constructing till Trump’s speech on the Ellipse urging his supporters to “struggle like hell.”
Prosecutors had sought 4 years in jail for Caldwell on his remaining obstruction of justice offense conviction for deleting messages after the riot. Prosecutors described him in court docket papers as “an avid and prepared participant in an unprecedented crime.”
Caldwell’s legal professional instructed U.S. District Decide Amit Mehta in court docket paperwork that his consumer’s acquittal on the conspiracy costs and “army service that resulted in a lifetime of debilitating accidents” name for a sentence of time served. He spent greater than 50 days behind bars after his 2021 arrest.
“Mr. Caldwell was cleared of the 4 most critical counts and sentenced to no extra jail time by a extremely revered federal decide,” Fischer stated in an e-mail. “Clearly, he ought to be thought of for a pardon by President Trump.”
Trump has instructed he’ll pardon no less than a big portion of the than 1,500 individuals who have been charged with federal crimes within the largest investigation in Justice Division historical past.
Rhodes, the Oath Keepers founder, is amongst 14 defendants who have been convicted of seditious conspiracy for what prosecutors stated have been violent plots to maintain Trump in energy. Rhodes is serving an 18-year jail sentence.
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