 In January 1649 he and his younger brother, James Chaloner (1602–1660), served as two of the 135 commissioners of the court that tried King Charles I.Subsequently Thomas Chaloner signed the King's death warrant, whilst James did not.In 1660, at the restoration of the monarchy under Charles II, Chaloner was excluded from the Indemnity and Oblivion Act, which gave a general pardon, and escaped to the Continent to avoid a trial for high treason.