Elderly J6 Defendant Poised to Go to Prison for 4 Years

There is no denying the fact that some people crossed the line on January 6.

Having said that, I have seen several defendants who were literally "just there" getting sentenced to prison.

The latest case that is getting people’s backs up is Thomas Caldwell, 70, who many believe was being falsely portrayed by prosecutors to get a conviction.

Too Much

While Caldwell said he was never a member of the Oath Keepers, whose leaders have seen some of the stiffest sentences along with the Proud Boys, the picture many news outlets are using is of him at the Capitol with an Oath Keepers shirt on.

Caldwell was found not guilty of most of the charges against him, unlike the other members of the Oath Keepers.

He was found guilty, however, of the obstruction of justice/tampering with evidence count.

Caldwell’s attorneys are asking the government to take into consideration his service (a Navy veteran) and his age, hoping he will be given time served.

Caldwell was already in jail for 53 days before this trial and on home arrest for an additional 833 days and counting.

His attorney argued, “Caldwell’s medical ailments, his status as a Zero-Point Offender, his full acquittal on January 6-related conspiracy counts at a time when D.C. juries had not acquitted a single defendant of a single count (65-0), his perfect performance while on pretrial release, and his military service that resulted in a lifetime of debilitating injuries suggest that a sentence of time-served (53 days) is appropriate.

“…Respectfully, a sentence that includes incarceration would be inappropriate based upon Caldwell’s recent fusion surgery and his status as a 100 percent service-connected disabled veteran.”

Caldwell maintains that prosecutors are taking some of his comments out of context to portray him as a villain.

Back in 2022, during an interview, he stated, “A lot of the things that they’re saying are horrible and seditious are mocking and jibing and poking fun with friends—in private conversations—sometimes with one person in a text message, or two people.

“In fact, some of these things are with guys that are 75 miles away in Virginia, who are at their farms, drunk as lords, as they say, watching stuff on TV.”

For those who truly broke the law that day, I am all for them being held accountable, but when you are trying to put a 70-year-old man and grandmother in prison for what amounts to a tour, I think that is a bit ridiculous.

To that point, prosecutors are going over the top to make sure Caldwell goes to jail, arguing, “Caldwell plotted with other affiliates of the Oath Keepers to forcibly oppose the certification of the 2020 presidential election, and then he joined the mob that attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

“In his own words, Caldwell ‘heard that Pence f**ked us ... so I grabbed up my American flag and said, ‘Let’s take the damn Capitol’ and, ‘Let’s storm the place and hang the traitors.’”

My guess here is that Donald Trump has vowed to look at these cases, and I believe cases like Caldwell’s will be ripe for commutation or pardon once Trump takes office.