Seditious conspiracy defendant wrangles with prosecutor over violent messages in Oath Keepers Jan. 6 case

Washington – A defendant in the high-profile Oath Keepers seditious conspiracy trial dismissed incendiary communications prosecutors say he sent in the days surrounding the Jan. 6 Capitol attack doubt as "goofy" and told jurors he played no role in the riot, attempting to refute the government's evidence that was displayed in court on Tuesday. 

Thomas Caldwell – one of five individuals charged with seditious conspiracy currently on trial – took the stand in his own defense to convince the Washington, D.C. jury that he had no plans to prevent the peaceful transfer of power from then-President Donald Trump to then-President-elect Joe Biden on Jan. 6 as the government alleges. He also testified that numerous painful health conditions – including chronic back and hip issues – prevented him from posing any type of  threat that day. 

Under questioning from his defense attorney, David Fischer, the 68-year-old Virginia resident who described himself as a "walking disaster" due to his health, said he first became acquainted with the far-right Oath Keepers group in the days after the 2020 presidential election, ultimately inviting some to stay at his farm before a November 2020 pro-Trump demonstration and acting as a "tour guide" of sorts for members of the group at various times in Washington, D.C.