The Oath Keeper case can be an advanced model for more complicated cases. The criminal complaint shows investigators employing a variety of techniques to track and prosecute defendants: Thomas E. Caldwell, Donovan Crowl and Jessica Watkins. Caldwell said he intended to fight the charges at a hearing this week. Crowl and Watkins have yet to appear in court to respond to the complaint.
The agents in your case searched the video footage on the Capitol for badges or insignia, suggesting that the three accused militia members were part of the same group. They scoured social media accounts on platforms like Parler for any indication that the three were not only in the building, but had planned to be there in advance. And they obtained audio recordings of Watkins talking to other suspects of being Oath Keepers on Zello, a push-to-talk mobile application that works like a walkie-talkie.
Investigators also conducted an analysis of location data from a cell phone registered to Mr. Caldwell’s wife, determining that he was close to the Capitol at the time of the attack. Since Mr. Caldwell had no obvious connection with others, the agents followed suit with a more outdated method.
While searching Mrs. Watkins’ home in Ohio, they persuaded one of their friends to tell them that Mrs. Watkins had provided a phone number for a fellow Sworn in with whom she had stayed after the attack. The FBI was able to determine that the number was connected to the cell phone registered to Mr. Caldwell’s wife.
On Thursday, the FBI indicated that it was actively pursuing the most serious actors in the attack on the Capitol, announcing a reward of up to $ 75,000 for information on anyone connected to devices believed to be pipe bombs planted at the Republican Party headquarters and Democratic National Committees. The bulletin showed a grainy photo of someone wearing a white mask, black gloves and a hooded sweatshirt, walking down the street and carrying a backpack.
The Capitol investigation is, according to all reports, a huge undertaking, counting on the efforts of hundreds of agents and prosecutors from all over the country. It promises to become even more costly and comprehensive as the investigation progresses to more complex charges and investigators begin to use techniques such as writing warrants to search people’s email accounts or possibly infiltrating chat rooms. chat frequented by extremists.
At this point, the only other conspiracy case stemming from the riot was brought against Eric Munchel, a Nashville bartender who invaded the Capitol with his mother, with the intention, the court documents say, of creating “civil unrest” and preventing Congress business. In new court documents filed Wednesday night, prosecutors noted that Mr. Munchel found several members of the Oath Keepers on Capitol Hill and one of them said to him, “There are 65 more of us coming.”