A Texas man was arrested after allegedly plotting a violent attack on the state Capitol, and officials say law enforcement moved within hours of a tip.

Benny Caldera Jr., 40, was taken into custody at his home in Converse, Texas, around 3 a.m. Wednesday by Texas Department of Public Safety SWAT, Fox News reported. State authorities charged him with the felony offense of making a terroristic threat against a public servant.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said it received credible information Tuesday that someone was plotting a violent attack on the Texas State Capitol for Thursday. DPS special agents worked with the FBI and local law enforcement, then moved fast.

Caldera was booked into Bexar County Jail and initially released on a $75,000 bond. Later Wednesday, the FBI arrested him at the jail on additional federal charges tied to a possible planned attack at the Capitol and took him into federal custody, where he will remain.

DPS has not publicly named any other suspects. Officials have not released the specifics of the alleged plan, the weapons or method claimed, or the nature of the tip that started the case.

DPS and FBI closed ranks within hours of the tip

DPS spokesperson Kevin Cooper described the federal handoff in a statement to Fox News Digital.

He said:

"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. For questions about the federal case, we would direct you to the FBI,"

FBI Director Kash Patel praised the speed of the response on X, highlighting Texas DPS, FBI San Antonio, and local partners. The same focus on rapid federal action has marked other recent national-security cases, including a Pennsylvania man arrested in an alleged ISIS-linked plot.

Patel wrote:

"Outstanding work by @TxDPS. Proud of our @FBISanAntonio team for standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our state and local partners. 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,"

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also weighed in on X, framing the outcome as a clear line against violence aimed at the seat of state government.

Abbott wrote:

"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,"

Capitol stayed open while security tightened

DPS notified Texas state legislators about the threat and the arrest. The Capitol remained open for regular operating hours. The agency said it would keep an increased presence there to protect employees, state officials, and visitors.

The incident remains under investigation. That mix of state charges and a quick federal pickup echoes other cases where prosecutors stack felony threat counts and national-security tools, including a Hawaii Democrat charged with felony threats after a public confrontation.

What authorities have not said is as important as what they have. No motive has been released. No detailed target list inside the Capitol has been released. No account of how the “credible information” reached DPS has been released. And the additional federal charges have not been detailed publicly.

Readers following FBI leadership fights will note Patel’s public credit to the field office and state partners. His tenure has already drawn sharp oversight battles, including when Kash Patel arrived at a Senate hearing armed with opposition research.

Federal custody closed the state bond loophole

The sequence matters for public safety. Caldera was arrested before dawn Wednesday on the state terroristic-threat charge, posted a $75,000 bond, and walked out of Bexar County Jail. By late that same evening, FBI agents had him back in custody on federal charges and removed him from the county facility.

That handoff kept a suspect in an alleged Capitol plot off the street while the larger case proceeds. Aggressive charging and specialized courts have become a recurring Justice Department theme, from ordinary threat cases to the rare use of a dormant Clinton-era terror court for deportation.

Converse sits in the San Antonio metro area. Bexar County Jail handled the initial booking and bond. The alleged target was the Texas State Capitol in Austin, the working home of the Legislature and a daily destination for staff, lawmakers, and visitors.

DPS described Caldera as the main suspect. Local agencies assisted. No injuries or property damage were reported. The plot, as described by officials, never reached Thursday.

Law-and-order voters expect exactly this kind of coordination: a tip, a fast state arrest, and federal backup when a bond release would put a threat back on the street. Institutions that house the people’s business cannot be soft targets, and the people who work inside them should not have to guess whether a threat will be treated as real.

When police and the FBI treat a Capitol threat as urgent, they protect the constitutional order ordinary Texans still expect their government to defend.