Tacoma – A 42-year-old Port Angeles man was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to three years of probation for interfering with a federal communications system during an armed stand-off in Olympic National Park.
Caleb Chapman’s actions for 3 days in 2021 resulted in the evacuation and closure of a popular section of Olympic National Park at one the busiest times of the year.
At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Robert Bryan noted that Chapman had spent 80 days in federal detention, and could face additional prison time if he does not comply with all the conditions of his probation.
Court records show that just after midnight on August 29 last year, Chapman appeared at a stranger’s home armed with a handgun and an AR-15 style rifle. Chapman was high on methamphetamine when he handed the stranger a letter outlining his concerns over political events, his difficulty getting ammunition, and his belief that there would be a revolution starting on the Olympic Peninsula, Texas, and elsewhere.
Chapman drove his girlfriend to Olympic National Park where he started a fire and then felled a tree to block a road to the Deer Park campground. Chapman told his girlfriend she was going to die in the “revolution.” The girlfriend called 9-1-1 and Chapman threw a can of soup at her, cutting her leg. Chapman stormed off into the woods with nine firearms including a stolen handgun, an AR-15 and two shotguns. He had more than 3500 rounds of ammunition.
Law enforcement evacuated the Deer Park campgrounds, trailheads, and road areas, and attempted to locate Chapman. Around 3 PM on August 29, Chapman disabled the Olympic National Park radio communications repeater at the summit of Blue Mountain. The repeater is used by the park for emergency response, public safety, and administrative radio communications. By disabling the repeater, Chapman left the northeast corner of the park without emergency communications.
On August 31, a drone located Chapman in the park. Chapman fired a short barrel shotgun at the drone. Ultimately, law enforcement was able to negotiate Chapman’s surrender with no injuries to anyone.
Chapman has agreed to make restitution to those harmed by his actions, including losses to the National Park Service, and to specific individuals, incurred because of the closure of portions of the Park, including the popular Hurricane Ridge Visitor’s Center. The exact amount of restitution will be determined at a later hearing.
Members of the public who were impacted by the park closure should contact the National Park Service at Olympic National Park to supply restitution information.