Thomas Caldwell, who is alleged to be on of the orchestrators of the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, says there’s no way he could have led the mob since he is an “old cripple.”
Caldwell was being held in custody as he awaits trial. Arguing for his release, he claimed that events at the Capitol that day were not planned, and even if they were, he wouldn’t have been able to physically participate. The FBI claims it obtained messages showing Caldwell coordinating with others to travel to D.C, with the militia group known as the “Oath Keepers.”
Caldwell’s attorney also said his client is now confined to a wheelchair and suffering from debilitating back pain because he’s been unable to receive orthopedic treatment while in custody.
According to Reuters reporter Jan Wolfe, Calwell’s lawyer argued that he didn’t plan to participate in any violence that day, but instead was only there to “help police respond to Antifa.”
The judge, Amit Mehta, called that a “fanciful” argument.
“Who deputized the Oath Keepers to step in and keep public order?….I don’t buy it,” Mehta reportedly said. “Let’s not go down that road.”
Additionally, Caldwell’s lawyer argued that his inflammatory rhetoric before Jan. 6, which included him calling for “hanging the traitors,” was just “locker room talk and male bravado.”
Ultimately, Mehta ordered Caldwell released on bond and restricted to home confinement and electronic monitoring at his residence near Berryville, Virginia. He is also not allowed to access the internet.
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