THREAD:

Time for me to break the story that one person involved in the "March for Trump" campaign in cities across America that culminated at the Capitol on 1/6 is Mike Pence's former pilot and Trump's Mar-a-Lago security guard, former New York police officer Vinny Caldara. /1

Caldara indicates he and his "Trump Train"--a converted EMS vehicle decked out in Trump signage--were invited to join the campaign by "Women for America First."

WFAF is led by Kylie Jane Kremer & her mom, both close w/ the Trumps, as this thread shows: /2
https://twitter.com/m_mendozaferrer/status/1349550640389734400?s=19

Caldara's "Trump Train" escorted WFAF's "March for Trump" bus as they traveled to "the state capitols of the states where the democrats have stolen the vote."

Sponsors include My Pillow, Bannon's War Room, Right Side Broadcasting, Lindell Recovery Network & The Liberty Lab. /3

In Feb 2017, The Guardian reported Caldara was spotted working a "security role" at Mar-a-Lago not long after he lost his job as Pence's pilot after Guardian previously revealed Caldara had been charged w/ battery for striking a business partner repeatedly with his car. /4

Caldara was at Mar-a-Lago when Trump hosted Japanese PM Shinzo Abe.

A Facebook post at the time showed Caldara w/ Trump's social media director, Dan Scavino.

Caldara's alleged victim required "a spinal stimulator & a fusion of his right hand, which he became unable to bend." /5

Caldara is also "Production Manager" of Club 45 USA, a pro-Trump club in Palm Beach County formed in Jan 2018 to support Trump's reelection.

The club holds monthly meetings that have included "top notch speakers" and guests such as Roger Stone, Jim Jordan and Sebastian Gorka. /6

On 12/23/20, Caldara posted a memo to Trump from unnamed White House individuals detailing the "Operation 'PENCE' CARD" plan calling on Pence to "reject unlawful Electoral College certificates" from "six fraudulently certified states." /7

On 12/24/20, while Trump was back at Mar-a-Lago, The Palm Beach Post reported Caldara and his Trump Train had visited 15 states in the last 3 weeks.

Caldara alternated between predictions of Trump announcing a 2024 comeback & Trump's departure in Jan as "not going to happen." /8

On 12/27/20, Caldara had two interesting posts:

1. "Just received my 'marching orders' from The Boss!" when Trump tweeted he'd be in GA on 1/4.

2. A (fake?) check-in at Red Line Diner along w/ Dan Scavino, adding "... has been drawn in the sand." /9

Buoyed by Trump's 1/1 retweet of Kylie Jane Kremer's "March for Trump" event in DC to be held on 1/6, the group's website said "Democrats are scheming to nullify Republican votes" and that "[i]t's up to the American people to stop it," adding "we will do whatever it takes." /10

On 1/4/21, the "March for Trump" bus made a stop in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

Speakers included Amy Kremer, Vinny Caldara, and Jennifer Lawrence--the Communications Director of We Build the Wall, the org from which Steve Bannon was indicted for misappropriating funds. /11

On the day of the attack on The Capitol, 1/6, Vinny Caldara posted two FB Live videos from the "6th floor" of a building near Freedom Plaza that had a perfect view of Trump supporters heading toward and--later--leaving the Capitol.

Posted at 1:54 PM & 4:03 PM, respectively. /12

In the first video, Caldara was aware that the only thing separating the encroaching rioters and entry into the Capitol was the Capitol Police.

Caldara, at 2:40 of the video: "We are going to stop the steal, and we're not leaving DC until this gets taken care of." /13

Caldara, at 3:50 of the video: "... the Vice President has not backed up the President. He's not failed to certify the vote. And it looks like he's going to push to have Joe Biden as the 46th president. But I can tell ya after listening to the President for over an hour..." /14

Caldara, at 3:50 of the video (cont'd): "... [Trump's] not going to let that happen. And he's got a lot more tricks in his bag. And we're here to make sure he exercises every single one of them."

Also, not sure who this is next to Caldara, but looks like a security type. /15

In the second FB Live video posted at 4:03 PM, it wasn't until Caldara started pointing out the positions of the National Guard that I realized that--in theory--he was in a great position to be a "lookout" for Team Trump.

However, this can only be speculative at this point. /16

Although in the second video Caldara insisted Trump supporters were peaceful people who were leaving the Capitol in his observation, it cannot be ignored that his March for Trump campaign called for people to march to the Capitol, despite efforts to cover their tracks. /17

A common theme among the FB Live videos posted by Caldara over the past few weeks is how he and Trump supporters regarded Trump's attendance at the 1/6 rally and other related events to be the equivalent of "marching orders" or "a call to arms."

Trump indeed summoned a mob. /18

It also occurred to me, while the Women For America First group Caldara palled around with may have appealed more to regular Trump supporters than extremists, if there was a grand strategy at Trump's level, the regular supporters presence arguably helped extremists blend in. /19

As for Caldara himself, perhaps he's just a die-hard Trump supporter willing to lawfully support Trump to the end.

There's no evidence I found of Caldara explicitly calling for violence, but we can nonetheless see the damage these disinformation machines have caused. /20

Earlier today, Caldara posted a video of Trump previously visiting our troops w/ the caption:

"The Coach and his Players in the locker room just before the 'Big Game' "

Caldara tells an inquiring friend, "It's a prelude to this week's activity."

What's he mean by that? /21x

@threader_app - please compile this derailment of the Trump Train.

BONUS:

I can confirm Vinny Caldara & "Women for America First" partnered with Cowboys for Trump, the leader of which was arrested today.

Caldara's FB Live videos show him talking to the leader of Cowboys for Trump on at least two occasions.

@VickerySec https://twitter.com/apimientaDC/status/1350941964166946821?s=19

As mentioned, former Pence pilot and Mar-a-Lago security guard Vinny Caldara of the "March for Trump" campaign that culminated at the Capitol on 1/6 was joined by Couy Griffin's "Cowboys for Trump" during the tour.

Too bad. Griffin's been *ARRESTED* for his role at the Capitol.