Riley D. Kasper
A Wisconsin man who allegedly boasted that he “pepper sprayed 3 cops so bad they got undressed and went home” has been charged with assaulting police at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
Immediately after that remark, Riley D. Kasper allegedly added: “I basically organized my own little militia and we fucking took over Congress.”
A 23-year-old from Pulaski, Wisc., Kasper joins more than 245 people accused of assaulting or impeding law enforcement. Several defendants have been charged with using bear spray, pepper spray, mace and other forms of chemical spray on police on Jan. 6. Prosecutors say others attacked police with a PVC pole, a flagpole, a Taser, a fire extinguisher, metal barricades and other weapons. Just like his alleged crimes, Kasper’s quoted bluster is not unique. Authorities built a case against many Jan. 6 defendants through their social media posts.
Most of Kasper’s quoted remarks about allegedly assaulting police come from his private Facebook communications with anonymized individuals.
In an 18-page affidavit, an FBI agent quotes Kasper telling “N.L.”: ““I mean the rest of the crowd gave support, but as you see in that video it was my group that busted the first gate and kept chasing the cops down and pushing them back into the capital [sic].”
Some four days before the siege, Kasper posted a meme of former President Donald Trump’s message “Be there, will be wild” on Facebook, according to the FBI.
Riley D. Kasper, 23, posted this meme on his Facebook page before assaulting police on Jan. 6, the FBI says.
On Jan. 7, 2021, Kasper allegedly wrote in another private Facebook message to a person identified as “S.B.” that he drove 18 hours to get to the U.S. Capitol and got on the “trump train.”
“Then fought cops all day got pepper sprayed more times than I can count, maced, hit with batons, and fucking shot and then kept going until now,” Kasper wrote, according to the FBI.
Another message quoted to “S.B.” quoted in court papers referred to never-materialized plans to disrupt President Joe Biden’s inauguration.
“A lot of the people who were there are planning to go back on the 20th for Biden’s inauguration or hopefully lack there of [sic],” Kasper allegedly wrote. “You better not bitch out this time, I’m giving you a bunch of time to plan and prepare lol. If you’re worried about the pepper spray and tear gas don’t be, mostly works on Biden bitches lol. Tear gas is basically just a tiny bit worse than campfire smoke, actually campfire smoke hurts your eyes worse, but you get a tingling in your lungs when you get a breath of it. Pepper spray is a bit worse, when you get hit it’s fucking instant and for atleast [sic] 2 seconds you cannot open your eyes probably not even with your fingers lol then it’ll start being a bit better but your eyes will burn. If you keep water with you just splash it in your eyes and blink and it’s just a little irritated but it’s pretty much back to normal, definitely at that point you’re ready to grab your pepper spray and charge those fuckers.”
Kasper’s alleged taunts against police fill the pages of the affidavit, and the FBI highlights some of the most brazen lines in bold:
“Dude cops are pussies, they absolutely do not want to get pepper sprayed! You charge that line and start spraying they start running for cover like you’re coming at them with an ak and then cause they pussy out I would blindly ram my body into The temporary fence they had there cause you know they fucking sprayed me on my charge but totally worth the 5-10 seconds of pain to have everyone charge and move the fence back like 5-10 feet when the cops are running.” (emphasis added by the FBI)
Another quoted private message reads:
“I don’t know what it is, can’t quite put my finger on It. But there is definitely something satisfying about pepper spraying cops in riot gear and watching them run from you like a bitch even though they have face masks, billy clubs and full fucking body armor” (emphasis added by the FBI)
Kasper allegedly said that the assault made a police officer fear for his life.
“As the day went on there were cops that started taking our advice and leaving, idk if they quit cause they wanted to make it home alive or if their commander let them. But yeah, one dude got pulled into the crowd and slammed on the ground on his back and his club, pepper spray, cuffs, radio everything got ripped from his belt, somehow I took out my baton and got right down in his face and screamed just go home then stood up offered him a hand to get up and give him his radio back cause I had that lol and he turned around and walked away and as far as I know left”“I’m pretty sure dude thought he was gonna die that day lol” (emphasis added by the FBI)
Multiple police officers lost their lives after the pro-Trump mob attacked the U.S. Capitol, but nobody has been charged or accused of causing their deaths. One fallen officer, Brian Sicknick, was pepper sprayed shortly before he died. Two men, George Tanios and Julian Khater, have been accused of assaulting him, though not with killing him. They have pleaded not guilty. Multiple police officers defending the Capitol on Jan. 6 died by suicide in its aftermath.
Kasper has been charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon to inflict bodily injury, civil disorder, engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, and related offenses.
Read the affidavit, below:
(Photo via FBI)