The Justice Department has charged a Texas man they allege attacked a dozen police officers with a chemical spray during the riot at the Capitol.
According to CNN, 49-year-old Daniel Caldwell allegedly used a chemical spray against a line of officers blocking the Capitol’s entrance, trying to prevent rioters from getting inside.
Federal Prosecutors claim that after the riot, Caldwell spoke about the chaos in a video posted to the far-right social media site Parler.
“They sprayed us with pepper spray. Kept spraying. I was like, ‘Dude, do it again, and we spray you back.’ And he did. And I sprayed back, got like 15 of them,” Caldwell said proudly in the video.
Caldwell was charged with four crimes: assaulting federal officers, obstructing law enforcement, knowingly entering a restricted building, and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
The use of chemical sprays has been a major focus of the federal investigation into the death of US Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick.
CNN previously reported that authorities believe the officer was sprayed with bear spray during the attack, which was a contributing factor in his death one day later. Court documents don’t show any known connection between Sicknick’s death and the charges against Caldwell.
According to the court docket, no attorney is listed for Caldwell, and he hasn’t yet entered a plea.
