A Kentucky man is facing charges after allegedly assaulting police officers with bear spray during the U.S. Capitol riots in 2021.
Officials from the Washington, D.C. branch of the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Andrew Kyle Grigsby, 29, of Louisville, is charged with five felonies including disorderly and disruptive conduct, engaging in physical violence and assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers using a dangerous weapon and inflicting bodily injury after attempting to breach a police line and spraying a liquid, believed to be bear spray, at officers by a stairwell.
He also faces two misdemeanor charges including disorderly conduct in a Capitol building and acts of physical violence on the Capitol grounds or in buildings.
Prosecutors originally filed charges in the case in November 2023, and Grigsby was indicted in August, court records show. He was arraigned Friday and is currently incarcerated in Washington, D.C.
Grigsby’s defense attorney did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the case.
Court records detail alleged series of events on Jan. 6
According to the criminal complaint, investigators spotted Grigsby on video footage holding a black canister and walking up the Northwest Stairwell toward a line of police officers defending the area. As he approached the police line, he raised his arm and sprayed officers with what investigators believe to be bear spray, causing them to temporarily retreat.
Shortly after, video footage shows him walking down the stairs still holding the spray, according to court records. Another angle of video footage captures him standing between a group of rioters and police officers while holding a police shield underneath temporary scaffolding next to the staircase, court records state.
He was spotted once more later that day in a different location on the Capitol grounds.
Investigators determined the man in the footage was Grigsby after a Kentucky resident who worked with and knew him for several years confirmed his identity.
Grigsby told investigators that he was in Washington D.C. the day of the riot and recalled wearing the clothes seen in video footage, though he denied entering the building’s premises or intentionally spraying any police officer, court records show.
During another interview, he said he found the canister sitting on a wall when he arrived at the Capitol, and that he tried to spray rioters as they were assaulting the police on the stairwell, according to court records.
Video footage shows a man, who investigators believe to be Andrew Kyle Grigsby, 29, of Louisville, Kentucky, allegedly bear-spraying police officers on Jan. 6, 2021 at the U.S. Capitol.
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Other Kentuckians charged in connection with Capitol riots
In Kentucky, at least 24 individuals with commonwealth ties were arrested concerning the Jan. 6 riots. A listing maintained by National Public Radio in November said more than 1,500 people have been charged with federal offenses related to the event.
One Louisville militia member posted in a chat “it is time for good men to do bad things” before taking part in the breach. He was later sentenced to five years in prison.
Another man, Michael Sparks, allegedly entered the Capitol through a broken window and was indicted on nine charges, including civil disorder. The Elizabethtown resident was convicted in March on several counts, including violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds and disruptive conduct in a restricted building. He faces four years and five months in federal prison, where parole is not an option, court records show.
President Donald Trump previously said on campaign trails he’d pardon involved individuals if he won the 2024 election, calling those convicted and awaiting trial on related charges “political prisoners” and “hostages.”
Taking place more than four years ago, the insurrection has splintered partisan lines. A Washington Post-University of Maryland poll from last year indicated about 86% of Democrats said the attack should not be forgotten and 72% of Republicans said it was time to move on.
Contact breaking news reporter Killian Baarlaer at kbaarlaer@gannett.com or @bkillian72 on X. Contact breaking news reporter Marina.Johnson@courier-journal.com.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky: Man charged in J6 Capitol riot after bear spraying police