Jeffrey Scott Brown: California man sentenced to over 4 years in US Capitol riot pepper spray attack
WASHINGTON, DC: A California man, Jeffrey Scott Brown, has been sentenced to 54 months in prison for stealing police pepper spray during the January 6 Capitol attack. Brown, a resident of Santa Ana, sprayed the irritant on officers after receiving it from another man's police bag. The prosecutor made the announcement on Friday, April 28.
According to the US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, officials were attempting to hold a line during the January 6 attack when Jeffrey Scott Brown, a Californian man, stole police pepper spray. CCTV footage reportedly showed that Brown was given a 'can of spray' by another rioter before 'deploying' it 'for several seconds in the direction of police,' according to the criminal complaint. The complaint also stated that Brown was among a mob of rioters who ripped a gas mask off a police officer's face, causing blood to be seen in his mouth. The incident was captured in a YouTube video titled "Scenes of Chaos Captured Inside US Capitol as Crowd Challenges Police."
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What led to the pepper spray attack?
"Based on my training and experience, I assess this spray was pepper spray or a similar chemical spray," as per an FBI agent. The assault happened as supporters of then-President Donald Trump attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, as Congress was formally counting the electoral votes affirming Trump’s election loss, as per NBC News.
'The charged conduct revolves around...'
Brown and two other men, Peter Schwartz and Markus Maly, were also found guilty of a multiple of charges by a jury in December, last year. It was named that Schwartz stole the pepper spray from a police bag amid the chaos, and gave it to Brown who sprayed the police line. Maly too sprayed officers with a chemical irritant, authorities claimed. “The charged conduct revolves around less than 10 minutes of Mr Brown’s life, and the Government’s claim that Mr Brown sprayed pepper spray toward law enforcement,” the attorneys wrote.
