Wisconsin Man Accused Of Pepper Spraying Cops At Jan. 6 Riot

WISCONSIN — A Wisconsin man arrested and charged on Wednesday was accused of spraying police officers with a can of bear mace as crowds entered the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday.

Riley Kasper, a 23-year-old from Pulaski, will make his first appearance in a federal court Thursday, the department said. Prosecutors charged Kasper with multiple counts, including assaulting a police officer with a dangerous weapon, entering a restricted building with a weapon and committing acts of violence on Capitol Grounds.

Around 10,000 people gathered on Capitol Grounds that day to disrupt the U.S. Congress counting electoral votes in the 2020 U.S. election. Of the people that attended the rally, 2,000 made it inside of the Capitol building itself, leaving a trail of destruction as they fought with police officers, ABC 7 in Chicago reported.

A man who investigators said was Kasper appears in several YouTube videos among the crowd outside the Capitol Building. The man can be seen spraying a can of mace in the general direction of police officers stationed outside. Later, the 23-year-old bragged about the act on social media and posted a photo of himself at the rally on Facebook, prosecutors said.

"I pepper sprayed 3 cops so bad they got undressed and went home," Kasper said in a private message on Facebook, according to the complaint. His group was the first to crash the gates and push police officers back into the Capitol, the man's messages said.

Family members and friends would later identify Kasper in pictures taken on Jan. 6, 2021, the criminal complaint said. Investigators found photos of him at the riot consistent with photos on his driver license as well.

Attorneys from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section will prosecute Kasper's case, the department said.

Kasper is the seventh Wisconsin man to be charged in connection with Jan. 6.

Kevin Loftus, a 53-year-old from Eau Claire, was sentenced to 30 days of jail and three years of probation after taking photos of himself entering the Capitol building, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.

Five other men were arrested and charged for partaking in the riot that day — each of them had charges ranging from trespassing the Capitol building, violent entry and disorderly conduct.

Of the people that entered the Capitol, 775 were arrested from all 50 states, Justice officials said. That includes 245 people charged with attacking or impeding police officers.

See Also: WI Police On The Lookout On Jan. 6 Insurrection Anniversary