Public January 6 profile · verified owner

Daniel Ray Caldwell

U.S. Marine veteran and pardoned January 6 defendant

Documented editorial-use image

Daniel Ray Caldwell is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran from The Colony, Texas, whose federal January 6 case moved from pretrial detention to a single-count guilty plea, a 68-month prison sentence, and a full presidential pardon. This profile separates the seven-count indictment, the custody rulings, the offense Caldwell admitted, the sentence imposed, and his later firsthand statements. **Case overview** Caldwell was arrested in Texas on February 10, 2021. A magistrate judge ordered him detained, and U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly denied his request for pretrial release on May 21, 2021. The published opinion identified seven charged counts, but expressly stated that its factual discussion did not represent findings on the merits. On September 26, 2022, Caldwell pleaded guilty to one felony count of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon under 18 U.S.C. §§ 111(a)(1) and (b). The Justice Department said the admitted conduct involved spraying a line of officers with a chemical irritant on the Lower West Terrace. That description is attributed to the plea and government records rather than presented as an independent characterization. Judge Kollar-Kotelly sentenced Caldwell on February 1, 2023 to 68 months in prison, 36 months of supervised release, $2,000 restitution, and a $100 special assessment. The other indictment counts were not separate convictions in the disposition preserved here. **Pardon and release** President Donald J. Trump’s January 20, 2025 proclamation commuted the sentences of fourteen specifically named people and granted full pardons to the other covered convicted January 6 defendants. Caldwell was not on the fourteen-person commutation list. The DOJ Office of the Pardon Attorney separately lists `CALDWELL, DANIEL RAY` among people who requested and were issued a January 6 pardon certificate. A pardon is executive clemency. It does not rewrite the historical plea and judgment as though they never occurred, and this archive does not treat either the conviction or the pardon as proof of moral character. **Firsthand post-release record** A February 9, 2025 article by [Tim Hale](/case/people/tim-hale) documents a post-release interview lasting more than two hours. The publisher says Caldwell discussed his background, January 6, incarceration, rebuilding his life, and a stated goal of obtaining and publishing Metropolitan Police Department video. Those positions are Caldwell’s attributed firsthand account. The native video and a complete time-coded transcript remain capture priorities, so isolated claims have not been converted into independent findings. The public support page for Caldwell includes dated updates describing work with VA representatives, employment efforts, family reconnection, and continuing public video-review work. Those updates are campaign statements unless supported by additional records. **Quick facts** - Full name: Daniel Ray Caldwell - Federal case: *United States v. Caldwell*, No. `1:21-cr-00181-CKK` - Court: U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia - Judge: Colleen Kollar-Kotelly - Arrest: February 10, 2021 - Detention opinion: May 21, 2021 - Guilty plea: September 26, 2022 - Plea offense: 18 U.S.C. §§ 111(a)(1) and (b) - Sentence: 68 months in prison, 36 months of supervised release, $2,000 restitution, and a $100 special assessment - Sentence date: February 1, 2023 - Clemency: Full January 6 pardon under the January 20, 2025 proclamation - Pardon certificate record: Listed by the DOJ Office of the Pardon Attorney **Was Caldwell convicted on all seven indictment counts?** No. The published detention opinion lists seven charged counts. The verified disposition reviewed for this profile is a guilty plea to one felony assault count. Charges that did not become convictions are preserved as charging history, not silently described as proven offenses. **Did the detention opinion determine guilt?** No. It decided whether Caldwell would remain in custody before trial. The opinion expressly stated that the facts discussed for detention purposes were not findings on the merits. **What does the post-release interview establish?** It establishes that Caldwell gave a lengthy firsthand account and identifies the subjects the publisher says were discussed. It does not, by itself, verify every claim about January 6, police conduct, incarceration, medical care, or withheld video. **Explore and contribute** Review connected people, events, and source relationships in the [J6 Case Nexus](/case/nexus). The clemency record connects Caldwell to [Donald J. Trump](/case/people/donald-j-trump), and the interview record connects him to Tim Hale. Caldwell also appears in the broader archive created by [Ryan Nichols](/case/people/ryan-nichols). Have a native filing, judgment, detention transcript, pardon certificate, authenticated interview, custody record, or photograph with documented reuse permission? [Submit it for verification](/submit) with the source, date, and chain-of-custody details. No portrait is assigned because the archive has not yet obtained a provenance-cleared image with verified reuse permission.