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Defendant Sprayed Police with Chemical Irritant
September 9, 2023 - WASHINGTON – A Maryland man pleaded guilty on Friday to a felony offense related to his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election.
Douglas Wyatt, 50, of Fallston, Maryland, pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia to a felony offense of assaulting a federal officer using a dangerous weapon before U.S. District Judge Randolph D. Moss. Wyatt is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 1, 2023.
According to court documents, on Jan. 6, 2021, Wyatt traveled from his residence in Fallston, Maryland, to Washington, D.C., to attend the “Stop the Steal” rally and to protest Congress’ certification of the Electoral College. After the rally, Wyatt walked to the U.S. Capitol complex wearing a black and gray hat with yellow lettering, dark sunglasses, a black winter jacket, white and red gloves, a gray backpack, blue jeans, white and gray tennis shoes, and, occasionally, a black face covering.
Wyatt arrived at the U.S. Capitol building at approximately 1:30 p.m., where a large crowd had assembled on the restricted grounds. Court documents say that Wyatt was on the West Plaza near the inaugural stage at the front of a group of rioters facing a police line and federal law enforcement officers wearing riot gear. Wyatt was standing near his stepson, Jacob Michael Therres. At around 2:10 p.m., rioters began breaching the police line and engaging in physical altercations with officers. At this time, Wyatt helped pull away a bicycle rack barrier from the police line during a struggle between police and rioters.
At around 2:14 p.m., Wyatt picked up a long, 4 x 4 wooden plank off the ground and handed it to Therres, who took the wooden plank and threw it at the police line. Approximately 10 minutes later, Wyatt took a chemical spray gun from a black bag on the inaugural stage area on the West plaza and began spraying law enforcement officers from the inaugural stage.
A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case is being prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Baltimore and Washington Field Offices, which identified Wyatt as #277 and Therres as BOLO (Be on the Lookout) #180 on its seeking information photos. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.
In the 32 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,146 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 398 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.
Source: DOJ Release
