Jan. 6 Defendant Responds to Prosecutor’s Claim He Had ‘Death List’

Thomas Caldwell at his home in Berryville, Va., on March 19, 2022. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

A defendant in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol breach is challenging the claim that he had a “death list” in his home.

Prosecutors said in a filing in the case against Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes and members of the group that the raid of Thomas Caldwell’s home uncovered a disturbing document.

“From the search, law enforcement recovered a document that included the words ‘DEATH LIST’ hand-written across the top with the name of a Georgia election official, a purported family member of that official, and the county and state associated with that official all hand-written underneath,” wrote prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, part of the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The list also included notes such as “40+ from N.C,” which provide evidence of a conspiracy to prevent the transfer of presidential power, prosecutors said. They said the government expects to introduce evidence related to the document in the upcoming trial of some of the group’s members.

Caldwell told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement that he challenged the offered information, which thus far has no hard evidence supporting it.

“The DOJ’s claim that I intended to assassinate election workers is a bold-faced lie and completely disgusting,” he said. “There is a mountain of exculpatory evidence that the DOJ has hidden from the public through protective orders.”

Caldwell, a U.S. Navy veteran, has said that he traveled to the Capitol to watch then-President Donald Trump’s speech. He and his wife acknowledged going onto a balcony at the Capitol, but said no police officers tried to stop them.

Caldwell has also said that he isn’t a member of the Oath Keepers, although he corresponded with known members and described them as friends.

Explosives

In the July 8 filing, prosecutors also said they plan to submit evidence that another defendant, Jeremy Brown, transported explosives to the Washington area on Jan. 6, 2021, and that Jessica Watkins, a third defendant, had bomb-making instructions.

Brown, who’s being tried separately for Jan. 6-related charges, but hasn’t been indicted in the alleged conspiracy, communicated with some of those accused of conspiring in preparation for the Capitol breach and deposited weapons at a Comfort Inn in Virginia that was serving as a staging area for a subset of members who described themselves as a Quick Reaction Force (QRF), according to prosecutors.

Brown also had explosives at the time, although the government “is unaware” of whether he also placed them at the inn or kept them in his RV, which he parked in Maryland, according to the filing.

“The government plans to introduce Brown’s statements and the evidence collected from the search of Brown’s property. Brown’s statements, firearms, and explosives are intrinsic to the co-conspirators’ charged offense as contemporaneous, direct evidence of the manner and means used by the co-conspirators to advance the goals of the charged conspiracy,” prosecutors wrote. “Indeed, possessing, transporting, and storing various weapons around the Washington, D.C., area was part and parcel to organizing and executing the QRF for January 6, which, as alleged in the indictment, co-conspirators relied on as part of the plan to oppose the lawful transfer of power by force.”

Watkins had two bomb-making recipes in her residence, which law enforcement found during a raid. Prosecutors said the government doesn’t know when Watkins came into possession of the documents.

Lawyers for Brown and Watkins didn’t respond to requests for comment. An attorney for Rhodes declined to comment, but said his client would answer questions before the House of Representatives panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach.