WASHINGTON — A lawyer for a Virginia man charged in the attack on the U.S. Capitol as part of the far-right Oath Keepers militia group says the man has held a top-secret security clearance for decades and previously worked for the FBI.

Thomas Caldwell's lawyer says his client worked as section chief for the FBI from 2009 to 2010 after retiring from the Navy. This detail came to light Monday as his attorney asked a judge to release Caldwell from custody.

Caldwell has denied being part of the Oath Keepers.

The Department of Justice, in announcing Caldwell's arrest last month, said he and two others "coordinated their attack" on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.

Prosecutors say Caldwell posted to social media ahead of Jan. 6, and during the storming of the Capitol building. At one point allegedly posting, "We are surging forward. Doors breached[.]”

The FBI has not commented on the lawyer's assertion.