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.”
Federal officials praised the response publicly. Patel posted, “Outstanding work by @TxDPS. Proud of our @FBISanAntonio team for standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our state and local partners.”
He followed with a second statement that emphasized the timeline.
“Within HOURS of the tip, @TxDPS had the main suspect in custody — with @FBISanAntonio and local law enforcement assisting. Threaten Americans or our institutions, and law enforcement will move FAST. Investigation ongoing,” he added.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott weighed in on X as well.
“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,” he wrote.
Patel’s post states that the investigation remains ongoing. DPS says Caldera will stay in federal custody as it continues.
Caldera’s arrest came on the same day as an unrelated incident overseas. Israeli passengers and the Indian pilot of a FlyDubai flight stopped the co-pilot’s attempt to take over and crash the aircraft.
The plane was flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv when the episode unfolded. Reports identify the co-pilot as Omani.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the incident Thursday in an interview with Fox News. He told the network the Omani co-pilot “underwent Islamist radical indoctrination.”
Netanyahu then spoke about the people on board.
“I don’t know the exact background of this person, the attacker, but he obviously hated Israelis because he was going to kill about 170 of them on this plane, killing himself, too,” the prime minister said.
He ended his comments with one more line. “That’s fanaticism and hatred of an incalculable level.”
