Terror Plot Targeting Texas State Capitol Foiled
Within hours of receiving a tip, the Texas Department of Public Safety had its main suspect in custody, FBI Director Kash Patel said.
Authorities now say that speed prevented a possible attack on the Texas State Capitol in Austin, which was reportedly planned for Thursday.
The suspect is Benny Caldera Jr., 40. Dallas-Fort Worth NBC affiliate KXAS-TV reported that DPS and the FBI worked together to assess the threats he made. The agencies then decided to detain him.
A DPS SWAT team carried out the arrest at around 3 a.m. Wednesday, the agency said.
Officers reached Caldera at his residence in Converse, a city roughly 15 miles northeast of downtown San Antonio.
Arrest documents describe what Caldera said to a friend.
According to the paperwork, he told that person, “I love you, if you don’t see me again,” and explained that, “I am going to the Capitol and I am going to shoot it up.”
The same documents identify the source of his anger. Caldera told the friend he was upset with AIPAC, the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, and said “these people have to be exterminated.”
Bexar County Jail received Caldera first. Authorities charged him there with felony terroristic threat against a public servant.
KXAS also reported on his earlier record. Caldera was charged in 2023 with the unlicensed carrying of a weapon.
The state case did not remain the only one. On Wednesday, Texas DPS published an update on social media.
“Late this evening, Benny Caldera Jr., 40, was arrested by the FBI at the Bexar Co. Jail to face additional federal charges in connection with a possible planned attack at the Texas State Capitol. Caldera Jr. was then released from the Bexar Co. Jail into federal custody, where he will remain.”
Authorities now say that speed prevented a possible attack on the Texas State Capitol in Austin, which was reportedly planned for Thursday.
The suspect is Benny Caldera Jr., 40. Dallas-Fort Worth NBC affiliate KXAS-TV reported that DPS and the FBI worked together to assess the threats he made. The agencies then decided to detain him.
A DPS SWAT team carried out the arrest at around 3 a.m. Wednesday, the agency said.
Officers reached Caldera at his residence in Converse, a city roughly 15 miles northeast of downtown San Antonio.
Arrest documents describe what Caldera said to a friend.
According to the paperwork, he told that person, “I love you, if you don’t see me again,” and explained that, “I am going to the Capitol and I am going to shoot it up.”
The same documents identify the source of his anger. Caldera told the friend he was upset with AIPAC, the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee, and said “these people have to be exterminated.”
Bexar County Jail received Caldera first. Authorities charged him there with felony terroristic threat against a public servant.
KXAS also reported on his earlier record. Caldera was charged in 2023 with the unlicensed carrying of a weapon.
The state case did not remain the only one. On Wednesday, Texas DPS published an update on social media.
“Late this evening, Benny Caldera Jr., 40, was arrested by the FBI at the Bexar Co. Jail to face additional federal charges in connection with a possible planned attack at the Texas State Capitol. Caldera Jr. was then released from the Bexar Co. Jail into federal custody, where he will remain.”
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