A Texas man pleaded guilty today to assaulting law enforcement officers with a dangerous weapon during attempted cou d’etat at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Daniel Ray Caldwell, 51, of The Colony, Texas, pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia to assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers using a dangerous weapon.
Caldwell’s actions and those of other Trump-loving terrorists disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress that was convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the presidential election.
Had the terrorists succeeded in delaying the peaceful transfer of power, as decided by the American voters, the matter could have landed in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, which would have most likely denied Democratic President Joe Biden the victory he earned at the polls.
According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021, at approximately 2:05 p.m., Caldwell was among rioters illegally gathered in the Lower West Terrace area of the U.S. Capitol.
A line of law enforcement officers was in front of him. Caldwell stepped forward and sprayed the line of officers with a chemical spray.
The former Marine who doused at least 15 police officers with a chemical spray outside the U.S. Capitol and bragged about it later on video was arrested at Texas Instruments, his place of employment in Richardson, Texas, on Feb. 10, 2021. He is to be sentenced on Feb. 1, 2023.
Video footage captured on mobile devices and later obtained by law enforcement allegedly showed Caldwell “assaulting federal agents and engaging in disruptive or disorderly conduct on the lower west terrace of the Capitol Building,” FBI Special Agent Seth Webb wrote in the official statement of facts filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington on Feb. 8.
According to the court documents, a Twitter account with the handle @chris_sigurdson shared two links on Jan. 27. The first was to a YouTube video titled, “Storm The Capitol w/ dream floral.” Caldwell, wearing an “olive drab in color hoodie, dark glasses on a camouflage hat, camouflage assault pack, and camouflage trousers,” was seen “spraying a mist at police who were attempting to stop protesters from getting up the Capitol steps.”
He faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison, as well as potential financial penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
This case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas.
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Dallas Field Office. Valuable assistance was provided by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the Metropolitan Police Department, and the U.S. Capitol Police.
In the 20 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 870 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 265 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
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