WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� President has a Virginia man whose sentence already was for his convictions stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Thomas Caldwell, a retired Navy intelligence officer, was tried alongside Oath Keepers founder but acquitted of seditious conspiracy 鈥� the most serious charge brought in the Jan. 6 attack.
Caldwell's pardon is dated March 20. Defense attorney David Fischer said he informed Caldwell of the pardon on Monday after learning about it from news reports.
鈥淎nd he's elated,鈥� Fischer added.
A jury convicted Caldwell of obstructing Congress and of obstructing justice for tampering with documents after the riot. One of those convictions was dismissed in light of a ruling last year.
On Jan. 10, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta to time served with no supervised release. Prosecutors had recommended for Caldwell.
Ten days later, on his first day back in the White House, Trump issued a to all 1,500-plus people charged in the Capitol riot. Trump commuted the sentences of several defendants who were leaders and members of the Oath Keepers or Proud Boys extremist groups.
More than a dozen defendants were convicted of seditious conspiracy for what prosecutors said were violent plots to .
Prosecutors had alleged at trial that Caldwell helped coordinate 鈥渜uick reaction force鈥� teams prosecutors said the Oath Keepers stationed outside the capital city to get weapons into the hands of extremists if they were needed. The weapons were never deployed, and lawyers for the Oath Keepers said they were only there for defensive purposes in case of attacks from left-wing activists.
But Caldwell, who didn鈥檛 enter the Capitol, and down played messages he sent leading up to Jan. 6, including one floating the idea about getting a boat to ferry 鈥渉eavy weapons鈥� across the Potomac River. Caldwell said he was never serious about it, calling it 鈥渃reative writing.鈥�
Fischer said his client was 鈥渇irst among equals for a pardon.鈥�
鈥淲hen a progressive D.C. jury acquits him of most of the charges and an Obama-appointed judge sentences him to basically time served and a fine, I think it鈥檚 safe to say the government got it wrong,鈥� the attorney said.
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Associated Press writer Alanna Durkin Richer contributed to this report.
Michael Kunzelman, The Associated Press
