Oath Keeper claims Facebook post about ‘storming the castle’ was just his love of The Princess Bride

Navy veteran Thomas Caldwell is one of five on trial for seditious conspiracy over January 6 attack on US Capitol

An Oath Keepers member claimed that a Facebook post about “storming the castle” was not about January 6 but a reference to the movie The Princess Bride.

Thomas Caldwell, 68, told a court that a picture he posted of the pro-Trump attack on the US Capitol was referring to the 1987 movie by Rob Reiner and a line made famous by actor Billy Crystal.

“Us storming the castle,” Mr Caldwell wrote on the 7 January 2021 post, which also featured his wife Sharon Caldwell.

“Please share. Sharon was right with me! I am such an instigator! She was ready for it man! Don’t mind the tear gas,” he posted.

Mr Caldwell, a Navy veteran, is one of five people on trial for seditious conspiracy related to the insurrection on January 6, 2021.

He told a jury that messages he sent on social media and in texts about “assaulting” the Capitol were simply a “play by play” of events, and said he was a former high school sports radio commentator.

He also claimed that he was just being “a little bit of a goof” when he made derogatory comments on a video about Nancy Pelosi on January 6, and when he said that he knew where Mike Pence lived.

And when prosecutors showed a December 20202 text message he sent to friends in which he said he hoped Donald Trump would “start rounding up and executing traitors”, he claimed, “I didn’t mean that.”

He also claimed that he does “a lot of creative writing” and claimed that some of his violent messages about delivering “heavy weapons” across the Potomac River were taken from screenplays he had written, or references from the Call of Duty video games.

Mr Caldwell has claimed he has never been a member of the Oath Keepers and has pleaded not guilty to all criminal charges. Federal prosecutors accept that neither he or his wife ever entered the US Capitol building.