Federal prosecutors say Daniel Caldwell, 49, used a chemical spray against a series of officers who prevented rioters from entering the Capitol. According to footage of the incident cited in the court requests, it was used in the midst of a massive protest with police using batons and pepper spray to ward off the crowd.
According to prosecutors, Caldwell spoke hours after the riot about the incident in a video posted to the far-right social media site Parler. The clip was among hundreds of videos later published by ProPublica.
“They sprayed us with pepper spray. Keep spraying. I was like, ‘Dude, do it again and we’ll spray you back. And he did. And I sprayed back, got about 15, ‘Caldwell said in the video.
He is charged with four crimes: assaulting federal officers, obstructing law enforcement, knowingly accessing a restricted building, and disorderly conduct on the Capitol site. An attorney is not being documented for Caldwell in public court, and he has not had a chance to file a lawsuit.
A message sent to Caldwell’s LinkedIn profile on Saturday was not answered.
The use of chemical sprays was a major focus in the investigation into the death of US Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick. CNN reported that prosecutors believe he was attacked with bear spray, which contributed to his death a day later. There is no connection in court documents or elsewhere between Sicknick’s death and the charges against Caldwell.
Chemical sprays were one of the many weapons used by rioters during the January 6 uprising. According to a CNN analysis, other weapons confiscated in or around the Capitol on the day include firearms, a metal baseball bat, a fire extinguisher, a wooden club, a spear, a stun gun, crutches, a flagpole, stolen police protections, a wooden beam, a hockey stick and knives.