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Florida Man Daniel Baker Charged With Plotting Attack On Trump Supporters

TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/AP) — A man accused of plotting an armed response to former President Donald Trump supporters who were expected to gather at the state's Capitol last month was indicted on federal charges.

A federal grand jury in Tallahassee formally charged Daniel Baker on Thursday with two counts of transmitting a communication in interstate commerce containing a threat to kidnap or injure, according to court records. The FBI arrested Baker on January 15 at his Tallahassee home.

"At a time of widespread alarm and turmoil in our nation, and at state capitals in particular, Baker's actions clearly posed a threat to public order," U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida Lawrence Keefe said in a statement.

Baker was using social media to recruit people in a plot to create a circle around protesters and trap them in the Capitol, according to an affidavit filed by an FBI agent. Court documents describe what it said were a series of threats of violence made by Baker, along with a prediction of civil war. Baker is described as anti-Trump, anti-government, anti-white supremacists, and anti-police.

The pro-Trump protests expected for Tallahassee on Jan. 17 ultimately didn't materialize, although news outlets reported dozens of law enforcement officers were in the area.

Baker was kicked out of the Army in 2007 after going AWOL before being deployed to Iraq, according to authorities. The affidavit said Baker was then homeless and largely unemployed for the following nine years, most of the time in Tallahassee.

"If you are afraid to die fighting the enemy, then stay in bed and live. Call all of your friends and Rise Up!" Baker wrote on a Facebook event page he created, according to the affidavit.

(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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