ChrisHelcermanas-Benge

Meet MAGAt and J6 insurrectionist Daniel Ray Caldwell. A former U.S. Marine Corps veteran from The Colony, Texas, Caldwell was working at Texas Instruments in Richardson when FBI agents tracked him down and arrested him on February 10, 2021. He was fired immediately following his arrest. He was slapped with seven federal counts, including civil disorder and assaulting law enforcement officers with a dangerous weapon. On January 6, 2021, Caldwell was captured on video positioning himself on the Capitol's lower west terrace, directly engaging a defensive line of approximately 15 police officers. He unleashed a stream of heavy chemical irritant, believed to be bear spray or mace, directly into the faces of the officers, injuring at least four of them. Shortly after the assault, a ProPublica video captured him boastfully recounting the attack to bystanders, bragging that he promised the police he would "return spray" if they pushed the crowd. Local associates later noted his volatile nature, revealing he had previously broken rules at local airsoft simulations by bringing live, real firearms to training courses. After being deemed too dangerous to be released pre-trial, Caldwell spent nearly two years behind bars before pleading guilty in September 2022. In February 2023, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly explicitly labeled him an "insurrectionist" and sentenced him to 68 months (over 5 and a half years) in federal prison. Despite facing years of remaining time at FCI Seagoville, Caldwell's legal punishment came to an abrupt halt when he received a full, unconditional presidential pardon on January 20, 2025, freeing him from his federal sentence early.