A federal judge ordered one of the Oath Keepers released from jail pending his trial as he hinted that the evidence of a conspiracy among the group to enter the Capitol was sketchy, CNN reports.
Judge Amit Mehta of the DC District Court ordered 65-year-old Thomas Caldwell due to health concerns, but ordered Caldwell to remain under house arrest with GPS monitoring and to keep off electronic devices. Caldwell had been detained for several weeks after his arrest, with the Department of Justice alleging he was too dangerous to release.
Mehta noted Caldwell’s deteriorating health and commented about the strength of the evidence against him. “There is an absence of direct evidence of planning by Mr. Caldwell to enter the Capitol building,” Mehta said. “There are no text messages, communications by him, that speak to entering a building or trying to enter the building. And ultimately, he did not enter the building.”
Prosecutors noted that there was no explicit message among Oath Keeper members to enter the Capitol, but there were plans to disrupt the January 6th certification of the election by Congress.
“We do not have, at this point, someone explicitly saying, ‘Our plan is to storm the Capitol to stop certification,’ ” prosecutor Kathryn Rakoczy said. “There is evidence of an intent to unlawfully and corruptly obstruct a congressional proceeding … and to use violence to effectuate this plan.”