State and federal agents stopped a planned attack on the Texas Capitol after arresting a Converse man who allegedly vowed to shoot it up.
A Texas Department of Public Safety SWAT team took 40-year-old Benny Caldera Jr. into custody early Wednesday at his home in Converse, a suburb northeast of San Antonio, after authorities deemed a tip about a Capitol attack credible.
The threatened date was Thursday, October 1. DPS and the FBI moved within hours. Caldera faces a state charge of terroristic threat against a public servant and additional federal charges tied to a possible planned attack on the Texas State Capitol in Austin. He is in federal custody with no bond.
DPS received the information Tuesday evening, worked the leads with the FBI, identified Caldera, and found him. Officers made the arrest without incident around 3 a.m. Wednesday. Lawmakers were notified. The Capitol stayed open under a heightened security posture.
Breitbart News reported that arrest details relayed through NBC 5 DFW describe what an acquaintance told DPS investigators. The friend said Caldera declared he was heading to the Capitol to open fire.
According to that account, Caldera told the acquaintance:
"I am going to the Capitol, and I am going to shoot it up."
Arrest documents also state the acquaintance reported Caldera was angry at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and said “these people have to be exterminated.”
Those alleged statements framed the threat as directed violence against a seat of government and against people Caldera associated with that group. DPS treated the information as credible and pushed the case with federal partners.
The New York Post reported Caldera could face felony terroristic threat charges and was initially processed with a $75,000 bond after the state arrest. That did not end the case.
Late Wednesday, the FBI arrested him again at the Bexar County Jail on additional federal charges connected to the possible Capitol attack. DPS said he was released from the jail straight into federal custody. He is not out on bond.
In a late-night statement, DPS said there is no reason to believe an ongoing threat remains against the Capitol. The agency also said it will keep an increased security presence there and urged Texans to stay vigilant. The investigation continues.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott praised the stop in a social media post after the early-morning arrest.
"Texas DPS and the FBI stopped a planned attack on the Texas Capitol. Texas will NOT tolerate threats of violence against our Capitol. Thank you, TxDPS, for a job well done."
Fox News reported FBI Director Kash Patel’s message on X stressing speed and partnership with state and local officers.
"Outstanding work by @TxDPS. Proud of our @FBISanAntonio team for standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our state and local partners. Within HOURS of tip, @TxDPS had the main suspect in custody with @FBISanAntonio and local law enforcement assisting."
Patel’s point was simple: a tip came in, troopers and agents locked onto the suspect, and custody followed the same day. That is how serious threats against public buildings are supposed to be handled.
DPS raised its posture at the Texas State Capitol on Wednesday while the case was still active. The building remained open. Officials did not report injuries, damage, or a completed attack. The October 1 date named in the threat passed under that increased security and the suspect’s detention.
Converse sits about 13 miles northeast of San Antonio. That is where SWAT found Caldera. Austin is where the target stood. Bexar County Jail is where state custody turned into a federal hold. The geography is ordinary. The alleged intent was not.
Open questions remain. Authorities have not publicly detailed weapons, a written plan, or any co-conspirators in the material released so far. The precise federal counts have not been fully spelled out in the initial statements. The tip’s first source beyond the acquaintance’s account is not named. What is clear is the sequence officials did put on the record: tip, rapid identification, SWAT custody, state charge, federal pickup, and a hard no on bond.
When someone allegedly talks about shooting up a state Capitol and “exterminating” people, the only acceptable answer is the one Texas and the FBI just delivered, fast custody, real charges, and a secure building.
