Thomas Edward Caldwell, a Virginia man charged with storming the U.S. Capitol, is a decorated Navy veteran who worked for the FBI and holds a top-secret security clearance, his attorney said Monday.
In a court filing, Mr. Caldwell’s attorney, Thomas K. Plofchan Jr., also denied claims made by the U.S. Department of Justice about his client having a top role in the Oath Keepers militia group.
“It is reasonably believed the government, by this time, has confirmed that he is not a member,” Mr. Plofchan said of Mr. Caldwell in a federal court filing seeking his release from custody.
“He has held a Top Secret Security Clearance since 1979 and has undergone multiple special background investigations in support of his clearances,” Mr. Plofchan said of Mr. Caldwell in the filing.
Mr. Caldwell, 66, was arrested by FBI agents on Jan. 19 at his residence in Berryville, around 70 miles west of Washington, D.C., and has been held ever since at Central Virginia Regional Jail.
In charging documents, the Justice Department referred to Mr. Caldwell as having a leadership role in the Oath Keepers paramilitary group and said he was among its members at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Several days after his arrest, Mr. Caldwell and two co-defendants — fellow alleged Oath Keeper members Donovan Ray Crowl and Jessica Marie Watkins, both of Ohio — were charged in a criminal indictment in D.C. federal court with counts of conspiracy to obstruct justice, conspiracy to impede or injure an officer, destruction of property, obstruction of an official proceeding and violent entry.
“Caldwell is not a member of the organization, nor has he ever been a member of the organization, and if he were, such membership would be protected activity under the First Amendment,” his lawyer fired back in the latest court filing. Mr. Caldwell, his lawyer said, is a disabled retired Navy lieutenant commander who later briefly worked as a section chief for the FBI around 10 years ago.
“He also formed and operated a consulting firm performing work, often classified, for U.S. government customers,” Mr. Plofchan said about Mr. Caldwell in the filing entered in federal court.
Indeed, The Washington Times has found records confirming Mr. Caldwell has previously contracted for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Officer of Personnel Management, among other clients.
The public court docket in the case did not contain a response from the federal government as of early Tuesday. U.S. District Court Judge Amit P. Mehta has given the government until Friday to reply.
Prosecutors alleged previously that Mr. Caldwell stormed past security barricades set up outside the Capitol, climbed up the stairs to the complex and posed for photos. They cited Facebook messages of him boasting about “storming the castle,” as well as cell phone records that placed his wife, who was with him at the time, at the Capitol during the attack.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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