Zitser writes: "Thomas Edward Caldwell, the leader of the far-right militia group known as Oath Keepers, has been accused by the FBI of coordinating an effort to track down lawmakers during the siege of the US Capitol building."
Trump supporters stand on the U.S. Capitol Police armored vehicle as others take over the steps of the Capitol. (photo: Bill Clark/Congressional Quarterly/ZUMA)
Far-Right Group Used Facebook Messenger to Hunt for Lawmakers During Capitol Siege, FBI Says
23 January 21
homas Edward Caldwell, the leader of the far-right militia group known as Oath Keepers, has been accused by the FBI of coordinating an effort to track down lawmakers during the siege of the US Capitol building.
Caldwell, 66, was cited with leading the effort to locate members of Congress, The Washington Post reported.
Two others, Donovan Ray Crowl and Jessica Marie Watkins, were also accused of having conspired with the Navy veteran, The Post said.
Caldwell is said to have received Facebook messages updating him of the specific whereabouts of lawmakers while congressional offices were being ransacked, according to an affidavit included in court filings obtained by the George Washington University Program on Extremism.
One message, the FBI said, read: "All members are in the tunnels under capitol. Seal them in, turn on the gas."
While raiding the Capitol, Caldwell shared a post on Facebook. He wrote, "Inside." After, the intelligence agency said, he received a flurry of messages from unspecified senders.
"Tom take that b----- over," one message read.
"Tom, all legislators are down in the Tunnels 3 floors down," another said.
Some of the messages gave specific directions about the locations of lawmakers.
"Go through back house chamber doors facing N left down hallway down steps," court documents reveal of one message.
"Do like we had to do when I was in the core, start tearing out floors, go from top to bottom," another is reported to have said.
The day after the insurrection, Caldwell sent a text to Crowl. It read: "Do you like the pictures of us storming the castle?"
Caldwell was arrested earlier this week on several charges, including conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and conspiracy to impede or injure an officer.
It was the first conspiracy charge filed against any of the rioters, according to the Daily Beast.
The investigation into the insurrection is underway, but Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said that many lawmakers "still don't feel safe."
|
THE NEW STREAMLINED RSN LOGIN PROCESS: Register once, then login and you are ready to comment. All you need is a Username and a Password of your choosing and you are free to comment whenever you like! Welcome to the Reader Supported News community. |
