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Thomas Edward Caldwell

Retired Navy intelligence officer · pardoned January 6 defendant

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## Thomas Edward Caldwell: case record and clemency history Thomas Edward Caldwell is a retired U.S. Navy intelligence officer from Berryville, Virginia. He was prosecuted in United States v. Rhodes, III et al., No. 1:22-cr-15, one of the major Oath Keepers-related January 6 cases. ### What the jury decided On November 29, 2022, a federal jury found Caldwell guilty of obstruction of an official proceeding and tampering with documents or proceedings. Court reporting states that the jury acquitted him of seditious conspiracy and the other conspiracy counts. The Justice Department's broader descriptions of alleged planning, coordination, weapons staging, and intent are government claims tied to its trial evidence and are identified as such in this archive. The Justice Department's verdict release also states that Caldwell remained outside the Capitol. Public court reporting further states that he did not enter the building and was not accused of assaulting an officer. ### What changed after Fischer v. United States The Supreme Court narrowed the federal obstruction statute in Fischer v. United States on June 28, 2024. The district court later dismissed Caldwell's obstruction conviction under that ruling. That left the evidence-tampering conviction as the only remaining count for sentencing. ### Sentence, commutation, and full pardon On January 10, 2025, U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta sentenced Caldwell to time served, reflecting approximately 53 days he had already spent in custody after his 2021 arrest. Reporting states that the court imposed no additional supervised release. These next two clemency steps are legally distinct: 1. On January 20, 2025, President Donald J. Trump's January 6 clemency proclamation specifically named Thomas Caldwell among 14 people whose sentences were commuted to time served. 2. On March 20, 2025, President Trump issued Caldwell a separate full and unconditional pardon for the remaining offense in case No. 1:22-cr-15. The Office of the Pardon Attorney identifies that offense as tampering with documents or proceedings. The official two-page pardon document is now linked in this archive. A pardon is an exercise of presidential clemency; it is not itself a judicial finding about the underlying facts. Likewise, a conviction is not a judgment about a person's complete life or moral character. ### Quick facts - **Full name:** Thomas Edward Caldwell - **Federal case:** United States v. Rhodes, III et al., No. 1:22-cr-15 - **Court:** U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia - **Judge:** Amit P. Mehta - **Arrested:** January 19, 2021 - **Jury verdict:** November 29, 2022 - **Acquitted:** Seditious conspiracy and the other conspiracy counts - **Convicted:** Obstruction of an official proceeding and tampering with documents or proceedings - **Post-Fischer change:** Obstruction conviction dismissed - **Sentenced:** January 10, 2025, to time served - **Sentence commuted:** January 20, 2025 - **Full pardon:** March 20, 2025 - **Capitol entry:** The DOJ verdict release states Caldwell remained outside the Capitol ### Source and editorial posture The factual chronology above is drawn from the Justice Department's verdict release, the White House clemency proclamation, the Office of the Pardon Attorney's official register and individual pardon PDF, the D.C. Circuit docket, and contemporaneous court reporting. The site's editorial position may discuss Caldwell's prosecution as part of alleged or documented Biden-era DOJ weaponization, but that analysis remains separate from the court record, government allegations, defense positions, and clemency documents. This profile is unclaimed. Thomas Caldwell or his family may claim it without charge, add firsthand context, submit authenticated documents, and request corrections.