He settled back in his chair, a plastic water bottle handy as he awaited another question from an attorney for the state of Oregon. Earlier he’d been prompted to recount his career, and recalled serving over decades in the military, including as a Green Beret in Iraq around 2003, then going to work in Africa as military contractor and to teach the ROTC program at the University of Washington.

Thirteen years ago, Robert Cantu said, he joined the Federal Protective Service. He rose through the ranks and in 2023 became deputy director of Region 10 , helping oversee the agency’s work protecting federal facilities in Idaho and Alaska, Washington and Oregon.

Identified in the trial as “RC” even though his actual name was little mystery to many in the courtroom, Cantu had answered a range of

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