United States v. Caldwell

540 F.Supp.3d 66

UNITED STATES of America

v.Daniel Ray CALDWELL, Defendant

Criminal Action No. 21-181 (CKK)

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

Signed May 21, 2021

Puja Bhatia, Assistant U.S. Attorney, DOJ-USAO, Washington, DC, for United States of America.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

COLLEEN KOLLAR-KOTELLY, United States District Judge

Defendant Daniel Ray Caldwell is charged with seven felony and misdemeanor offenses arising from his participation in the events at the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. After his arrest in Texas on February 10, 2021, the Government moved for Defendant Caldwell to be detained pending trial. Magistrate Judge Kimberly C. Priest Johnson of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas held a detention hearing and ordered that Defendant Caldwell be detained pending trial.

Pending before the Court is Defendant Caldwell's [21] Motion to Revoke or Amend Magistrate's Order of Pretrial Detention, in which he asks the Court to revoke the magistrate judge's detention order and place him on pretrial release with conditions. Upon careful consideration of the pleadings,¹ the relevant legal authority, and the record before the Court, the Court shall DENY Defendant Caldwell's motion.

I. BACKGROUND

Defendant Caldwell is charged by Indictment with seven felony and misdemeanor counts: (1) Civil Disorder, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 231(a)(3) ; (2) Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers Using a Dangerous Weapon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 111(a)(1) and (b) ; (3) Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Ground with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1752(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A) ; (4) Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1752(a)(2) and (b)(1)(A) ; (5) Engaging in Physical Violence in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1752(a)(4) and (b)(1)(A) ; (6) Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building, in violation of 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2)(D) ; and (7) Act of Physical Violence in the Capitol Grounds or Building, in violation of 40 U.S.C. § 5104(e)(2)(F). Indictment, ECF No. 5.

The facts discussed here are based upon the record presently before the Court, including the Statement of Facts in support of the Criminal Complaint, the testimony of Special Agent Seth D. Webb of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), Kambria Caldwell, and James Caldwell during Defendant Caldwell's detention hearing before the magistrate judge, and the evidence proffered by the Government. In an exercise of its discretion, the Court declines to hear additional evidence. See United States v. Sheffield , 799 F. Supp. 2d 18, 29 (D.D.C. 2011) ("The Court is free to use in its analysis any evidence or reasons relied on by the magistrate judge, but it may also hear additional evidence and rely on its own reasons." (internal citations and quotation marks omitted)). The facts stated here do not represent the Court's findings of fact on the merits of the case, which are the province of the jury.

A. Factual Background

On January 6, 2021, a joint session of the United States Congress convened to certify the vote count of the Electoral College of the 2020 Presidential Election, which had taken place on November 3, 2020. See Compl., Stmt. of Facts ("SOF") at 1, ECF No. 1-1. The joint session began at approximately 1:00 p.m., with then-Vice President Michael R. Pence presiding. Id. By 1:30 p.m., the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate adjourned to separate chambers within the Capitol to resolve an objection raised in the joint session. Id. Vice President Pence continued to preside in the Senate chamber. Id. As the House and Senate proceedings took place, a large crowd of protesters gathered outside the Capitol. Id. "[T]emporary and permanent barricades were in place around the exterior of the ... building, and United States Capitol Police were present and attempting to keep the crowd away from the Capitol building and the proceedings underway inside." Id.

Shortly after 2:00 p.m., "individuals in the crowd forced entry into the Capitol building, including by breaking windows and by assaulting members of the Capitol Police, as others in the crowd encouraged and assisted those acts." Id. These violent acts caused members of the Senate and House of Representatives to evacuate the chambers of the Capitol and suspend the certification process of the presidential election results. Id.

Defendant Caldwell drove from The Colony, Texas to Washington, D.C. to "protest" Congress's certification of the presidential election results. See Def.’s Reply at 3. Videos from the Capitol Police, including body-worn camera videos, and from an "independent YouTube vlogger" show Defendant Caldwell on the lower west terrace outside of the Capitol at approximately 2:05 p.m., walking up the steps towards a group of law enforcement officers forming a "human shield." Gov.’s Opp'n at 3–5. Caldwell was wearing an "olive drab in color hoodie, dark glasses ..., a camouflage hat, camouflage assault pack, and camouflage trousers." Id. at 3. According to Agent Webb, the dark glasses were "military-style issued eye pro or eye protection" glasses, which "wrap around the eye" and "protect the eye from liquids or objects from getting poked in the eye[.]" Def.’s Mot. Ex. A, Hr'g. Tr. (Feb. 22, 2021) at 13:15–23, 40:16–22, ECF No. 21-1.

The videos capture Defendant Caldwell spraying an orange-yellow chemical spray at the line of police officers, some of whom were equipped with riot shields. The chemical spray is thick enough to be visible in surveillance videos:

Gov.’s Opp'n at 4, Figure 1; see also id. at 3–4, Figures 2–4. Additional videos show Defendant Caldwell at the front of a crowd confronting police officers, "flipping off" police officers, and spraying "a mist of pepper spray/mace while moving his hand from left to right in an attempt to get the entire line of officers." Gov.’s Opp'n at 6–7, Figures 5–7. Defendant Caldwell was also captured on video using a Baofeng radio:

Gov.’s Opp'n at 7, Figure 8.

In a later video, recorded at 4:54 pm on January 6, 2021 and uploaded to ProPublica, Defendant Caldwell spoke to off-camera interviewers about his participation in the events at the Capitol. Id. at 8; see also SOF at 3–4. Defendant Caldwell was wearing the same hoodie, backpack, dark-tinted glasses, and camouflage-print cap as in the videos of him at the Capitol, with the addition of a red sticker that reads "Guns SAVE Lives." Gov.’s Opp'n at 8. The video was recorded at the Renaissance Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. Id. Records obtained from that hotel indicate that Defendant Caldwell stayed there on January 5, 2021. SOF at 4.

Defendant Caldwell stated in the ProPublica video that ten minutes after "storming the Capitol," a large fight broke out and a female was "hit in the neck." Id. Caldwell then said that police began spraying mace towards the crowd, and Caldwell told the police that if they continued, he would return spray. Id. He stated that he then sprayed toward the police officers, and believed that he sprayed about fifteen of them. Id. Agent Webb testified that he believed Defendant Caldwell's statements in the ProPublica video indicate that he was inside the Capitol building on January 6, 2021, as he appeared to describe a fight that broke out inside the Capitol building, during which a woman was shot by a police officer while she and others were attempting to breach a barricaded door. See Hr.’g Tr. (Feb. 22, 2021) at 12:20–13:4 ("In the ProPublica video, he stated after we started storming, a huge fight -- a large fight broke out and female was hit in the neck, which I believe to be Ashli Babbitt, who was shot inside the Capitol."). Agent Webb stated, however, that at the time of the detention hearing, the FBI had not identified video of Defendant Caldwell inside the Capitol building. Id. at 22:4–15. The Government's opposition to Defendant Caldwell's motion does not include video or photographs of Defendant Caldwell inside the Capitol building. Agent Webb also testified that based on his review of the video uploaded to ProPublica, it did not appear that Defendant Caldwell was remorseful for his actions on January 6, 2021. Id. at 15:17–24.

Agent Webb testified during the detention hearing that he had identified Defendant Caldwell from a "black and colored patch with white bordering, which was later identified to be an American Military Simulation patch." Id. at 7:19–24. According to Agent Webb, American Military Simulation sponsors "Airsoft events" during which individuals shoot plastic projectiles at each other in military-style competition. Id. at 7:25–8:2. A confidential informant ("Witness 1") identified that specific patch, and also indicated that he recognized Defendant Caldwell based on screenshots from the January 6, 2021 videos and from being shown Defendant Caldwell's driver's license photo. Id. at 9:7–23. Witness 1 said that he had seen Defendant Caldwell at Military Simulation events, but did not know his name. Id. at 25:23–26:16. Agent Webb testified that Witness 1 had described Defendant Caldwell as "a complete wacko" and believed him to be a "white supremacist." Id. at 10:5–8. Agent Webb later stated that this information was purely the "speculation" of Witness 1, and that he had not corroborated these claims. Id. at 27:15–28:2. Witness 1 also told Agent Webb that Defendant Caldwell came to Military Simulations with real firearms, and had been admonished several times to return the "actual firearm" to his vehicle. Id. at 10:18–25.

Defendant Caldwell was arrested on a warrant pursuant to a criminal complaint on February 10, 2021. See Rule 5(c) Documents at 7, ECF No. 8. In a search incident to arrest, the FBI seized an "olive drab in color hoodie." Hr'g Tr. (Feb. 22, 2021) at 11:21–23. The FBI also...