July 1, 2024
DC Gulag Bodycam Video Confirms J6 Prisoner Was Pepper-Sprayed in the Face Twice, Raising ‘Serious Questions and Concerns’ :
An employee with the D.C. Central Detention Facility (DOC), better known as the D.C. Gulag, pepper-sprayed a January 6 prisoner in the face twice in less than a few minutes for not wearing a mask, bodycam footage obtained by the House Judiciary Committee confirms.
Former DOC employee Lieutenant Crystal Lancaster allegedly sprayed Ronald McAbee with the chemical munitions after he removed his face mask.
Last month, McAbee filed a federal excessive-force lawsuit against Lancaster for the 2022 pepper-spray attack. In his lawsuit, McAbee said he had removed his face mask to take oral medication.
“Defendant Lancaster knowingly, maliciously, and sadistically administered the chemical agent directly to Mr. McAbee’s face from less than four feet away,” the suit says.
After the chemical attack, jail staff “placed him in a shower with only very hot water, which amplified the burning sensation of the chemical spray,” the lawsuit states. “Mr. McAbee was not provided an opportunity to decontaminate thoroughly.”
McAbee was then “placed in solitary confinement for three days, still with no opportunity to decontaminate himself despite multiple requests. During that time, the chemical agent reactivated and caused Mr. McAbee intense burning pain,” the suit states.
McAbee suffers “continued physical and emotional trauma nearly two years later” from the Sept. 5, 2022 attack at the D.C. jail, according to the suit.
The House Judiciary Committee launched an investigation into the alleged assault in May.
Witnesses say the deputy had tried to assist a Metro Police officer who was being besieged by protesters at the lower West Terrace Tunnel and then attempted to save Rosanne Boyland, one of four J6 protesters who died that day, as police were refusing to provide medical assistance to her.
“The entire thing happened in about a seven minutes time timespan,” McAbee’s wife Sarah explained in an interview in March. “Those are the facts of the case.” One of the officers who thanked McAbee for his actions that day, testified on his behalf during his trial, “but it didn’t matter,” she said.
The former deputy spent almost two years in the DC Gulag awaiting trial. He was sentenced to six years in prison in October and his serving his sentence at the Federal Medical Center (FMC) in Rochester, Minnesota. The FMC is a federal prison for male inmates requiring specialized or long-term medical care.
The video footage confirms that Lancaster singled out McAbee to spray him in the face twice with chemical munitions within a short period of time.
“The video shows several inmates, including McAbee, not complying with the facility’s mask mandates or the lockdown order that Lancaster had issued,” the letter, signed by House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) and Rep. Nehls, states. “For reasons unclear from the video footage, however, Lancaster appears to single out McAbee for not wearing his mask or immediately returning to his cell.”
During the viewing, according to the letter, a DOC representative informed Nehls, his staff, and Committee staff that DOC’s policy requires inmates to receive fresh clothes after being sprayed with chemical munitions.
“However, McAbee has informed Representative Nehls that he was not given fresh clothes after the altercation; rather he was given the same clothes he was wearing at the time of altercation,” the Congressmen wrote.
DC Gulag Bodycam Video Confirms J6 Prisoner Was Pepper-Sprayed in the Face Twice, Raising ‘Serious Questions and Concerns’ :
An employee with the D.C. Central Detention Facility (DOC), better known as the D.C. Gulag, pepper-sprayed a January 6 prisoner in the face twice in less than a few minutes for not wearing a mask, bodycam footage obtained by the House Judiciary Committee confirms.
Former DOC employee Lieutenant Crystal Lancaster allegedly sprayed Ronald McAbee with the chemical munitions after he removed his face mask.
Last month, McAbee filed a federal excessive-force lawsuit against Lancaster for the 2022 pepper-spray attack. In his lawsuit, McAbee said he had removed his face mask to take oral medication.
“Defendant Lancaster knowingly, maliciously, and sadistically administered the chemical agent directly to Mr. McAbee’s face from less than four feet away,” the suit says.
After the chemical attack, jail staff “placed him in a shower with only very hot water, which amplified the burning sensation of the chemical spray,” the lawsuit states. “Mr. McAbee was not provided an opportunity to decontaminate thoroughly.”
McAbee was then “placed in solitary confinement for three days, still with no opportunity to decontaminate himself despite multiple requests. During that time, the chemical agent reactivated and caused Mr. McAbee intense burning pain,” the suit states.
McAbee suffers “continued physical and emotional trauma nearly two years later” from the Sept. 5, 2022 attack at the D.C. jail, according to the suit.
The House Judiciary Committee launched an investigation into the alleged assault in May.
Witnesses say the deputy had tried to assist a Metro Police officer who was being besieged by protesters at the lower West Terrace Tunnel and then attempted to save Rosanne Boyland, one of four J6 protesters who died that day, as police were refusing to provide medical assistance to her.
“The entire thing happened in about a seven minutes time timespan,” McAbee’s wife Sarah explained in an interview in March. “Those are the facts of the case.” One of the officers who thanked McAbee for his actions that day, testified on his behalf during his trial, “but it didn’t matter,” she said.
The former deputy spent almost two years in the DC Gulag awaiting trial. He was sentenced to six years in prison in October and his serving his sentence at the Federal Medical Center (FMC) in Rochester, Minnesota. The FMC is a federal prison for male inmates requiring specialized or long-term medical care.
The video footage confirms that Lancaster singled out McAbee to spray him in the face twice with chemical munitions within a short period of time.
“The video shows several inmates, including McAbee, not complying with the facility’s mask mandates or the lockdown order that Lancaster had issued,” the letter, signed by House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) and Rep. Nehls, states. “For reasons unclear from the video footage, however, Lancaster appears to single out McAbee for not wearing his mask or immediately returning to his cell.”
During the viewing, according to the letter, a DOC representative informed Nehls, his staff, and Committee staff that DOC’s policy requires inmates to receive fresh clothes after being sprayed with chemical munitions.
“However, McAbee has informed Representative Nehls that he was not given fresh clothes after the altercation; rather he was given the same clothes he was wearing at the time of altercation,” the Congressmen wrote.
