Capitol rioter accused of assaulting cops with chemical spray served as Marine, to remain jailed before trial

A federal choose in Texas dominated Friday {that a} former Marine accused of dousing no less than 15 police officers with a chemical spray exterior the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and bragging about it afterward video will remain in custody, in accordance to a report.

Daniel Ray Caldwell, 49, of The Colony, Texas, will keep behind bars till his trial in Washington, D.C., The Dallas Morning News reported.

After listening to testimony throughout a number of detention hearings within the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Magistrate Judge Kimberly Priest Johnson determined no situations of launch would “reasonably assure the safety” of the group.

Caldwell was arrested by FBI brokers on Feb. 10 at Texas Instruments, his place of employment in Richardson, Texas, authorities mentioned. He was fired following his arrest.

At a detention listening to on Feb. 22, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracey Batson argued that Caldwell’s alleged actions on Jan. 6 “indicate a lack of respect toward law enforcement” and that “his own words put him inside the Capitol.”

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According to an indictment unsealed Wednesday, Caldwell is now charged with seven counts: civil dysfunction; assaulting, resisting or impeding sure officers utilizing a harmful weapon; coming into or remaining in a restricted constructing or grounds with a lethal or harmful weapon; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted constructing or grounds with a lethal or harmful weapon: partaking in bodily violence in a restricted constructing or grounds with a lethal or harmful weapon; disorderly conduct in a Capitol constructing; and act of bodily violence within the Capitol grounds or buildings.

Video footage captured on cellular gadgets and later obtained by regulation enforcement allegedly confirmed 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 within the official statement of facts filed within the U.S. District Court in Washington on Feb. 8.

According to the court docket paperwork, a Twitter account with the deal with @chris_sigurdson shared two hyperlinks on Jan. 27. The first was to a YouTube video titled, “Storm The Capitol w/ dream floral.” Caldwell, sporting 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.”

The paperwork included screenshots of the video.

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The second hyperlink shared on Twitter was to a video interview revealed by ProPublica. It appeared to have been recorded on Jan. 6 at 4:54 pm within the foyer of the Renaissance Hotel in Arlington, Va. Caldwell, sporting the identical outfit as earlier within the day, with a purple “Guns SAVE Lives” sticker added to his hoodie, is heard recounting occasions exterior the Capitol, answering questions from two feminine voices off-camera.

“Probably 10 minutes after we started storming, a big fight broke out and the guns go off and one girl got hit in the neck,” Caldwell mentioned, recalling how police fired rubber bullets. “Then the fights started and they took their guys and somebody grabbed her and they took off.”

“We stayed there and they kept spraying pepper spray,” he continued, referring to officers. “I was like, ‘Dude, do it again, and I’ll spray you back.’ And he did and I sprayed back; got like 15 of them and that’s when they shot me with that big canon with rubber bullets.”

A witness interviewed by the FBI mentioned Caldwell participates in Airsoft Military Simulation (MilSim), “which is a live-action, in person simulation of armed conflict scenarios conducted by civilians that involve airsoft plastic projectiles launched by replica weapons, but do not involve actual firearms,” the court docket paperwork mentioned.

The witness described Caldwell as a “huge White supremacist” and “a complete wacko.” The witness additionally mentioned Caldwell would carry an actual firearm to the course and had to be corrected on a number of events to return the firearm to his automobile.

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But at a detention listening to, his ex-wife, Kambria Ann Caldwell, refuted that declare, arguing that Caldwell shouldn’t be a White supremacist and that he was associates with Black and Latino co-workers. She testified that her ex-husband receives VA incapacity companies due to a traumatic mind harm he sustained within the early Nineties. 

She additionally instructed the choose that Caldwell’s 13 rifles and 4 handguns are now not within the house they’ve lived in collectively with their son since 2016, even after their marriage dissolved.  

His lawyer, John Hunter Smith, identified that Caldwell has not been recognized in pictures or movies contained in the constructing on Jan. 6. Caldwell served within the Marines for 5 and a half years and was honorably discharged, Smith mentioned. He labored within the semiconductor business for over 25 years.

The Justice Department mentioned that greater than 300 people have been charged in connection to the Capitol riot. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick’s loss of life stays underneath investigation.

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“Regarding any connection to Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, we are not commenting or providing additional information on this active investigation,” Melinda Urbina, a spokeswoman for FBI-Dallas Division, beforehand instructed Fox News final week, responding to a query about whether or not Caldwell’s case might be linked to Sicknick.

Capitol Police mentioned the health worker’s report on Sicknick’s loss of life following the Jan. 6 assault is “not yet complete.” Investigators are “awaiting toxicology results and continue to work with other government agencies regarding the death investigation.”

“Officer Sicknick’s family has asked for privacy during this difficult time and that the spreading of misinformation stop regarding the cause of his death,” the assertion mentioned. “The Department and the Sicknick family appreciate the outpouring of support for our fallen officer.”