A Port Angeles man was sentenced Friday to three years of probation after pleading guilty this summer to interfering with a government communications system during a three-day standoff in Olympic National Park.
Caleb Jesse Chapman disabled the Blue Mountain summit's radio repeater, which is used to monitor public safety, emergency responses and administrative communications, federal prosecutors said.
Chapman, 42, "put many people at risk and spread fear in the community," U.S. Attorney Nick Brown said in a statement.
Staff closed a popular section of the park and evacuated visitors as law enforcement officials worked to take Chapman into custody.
Chapman had gone to a stranger's home early Aug. 29, 2021, with a handgun and AR-15 style rifle and handed the stranger a letter outlining his concerns over political events, difficulty getting ammunition and an impending revolution he believed would break out in the Olympic Peninsula, Texas and other areas, prosecutors said.
He then drove his girlfriend to Olympic National Park, where he started a fire and cut down a tree to block access to the Deer Park Campground, according to prosecutors. The woman called 911 after Chapman told her she was going to die in the revolution, prosecutors said.
Chapman was accused of throwing a can of soup at the woman, causing a cut on her leg; repeatedly slamming her head against a car seat; and storming into the woods with nine firearms and more than 3,500 rounds of ammunition.
A drone located Chapman two days later, and he reportedly fired a short-barrel shotgun at it before surrendering, prosecutors said.
He was charged with a misdemeanor in Clallam County for the alleged assault.
Chapman was using methamphetamine at the time, prosecutors said, and has been working to be drug-free since his arrest.
He agreed to pay restitution to the National Park Service and those affected by the closure, among other parties. The amount will be determined at a later hearing.
Chapman spent 80 days in federal detention and could face additional prison time if he violates his probation, prosecutors said.
