Thomas Caldwell, 66, a man charged in the January 6 riot, claimed in a Monday court filing that he has worked for the FBI and holds a top security clearance.
“He has held a Top Secret Security Clearance since 1979 and has undergone multiple Special Background Investigations in support of his clearances,” Caldwell’s attorney, Thomas Plofchan, wrote in a motion urging the judge to release Caldwell from detention, pending trial.
“He has been vetted and found numerous times as a person worthy of the trust and confidence of the United States government, as indicated by granting him Top Secret clearances,” Plofchan added, NBC News reported.
Plofchan also said that his client denies breaching the Capitol and has “physical limitations” that would have prevented Caldwell from storming the building.
Caldwell, a Navy veteran believed to have worked as a section chief for the FBI between 2009 and 2010, was arrested on January 19 and is currently facing four federal charges, including conspiracy to commit an offense and obstruction of an official proceeding at the Capitol.
The bureau also said that Caldwell shared a Facebook post from inside the Capitol, which said in part, “Us storming the castle. Please share. Sharon was right with me! I am such an instigator! She was ready for it man! Didn’t even mind the tear gas,” the Hill reported.
In the days before the riot, Caldwell also allegedly wrote a post on Facebook that appeared to be a call-to-action to storm the Capitol: “I swore to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic. I did the former, I have done the latter peacefully but they have morphed into pure evil even blatantly rigging an election and paying off the political caste. We must smite them now and drive them down."
Caldwell is one of three people suspected of being a member of the conservative Oath Keepers group who was arrested last month on conspiracy charges following the deadly January 6 riot.
According to the Hill, over 200 people have currently been arrested in connection with the January 6 riot that resulted in five deaths, including that of a Capitol police officer who was beaten to death by Trump supporters.
