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An employee with the D.C. Central Detention Facility (DOC), also known as the D.C. Gulag, pepper-sprayed a January 6 prisoner twice for not wearing a mask, according to bodycam footage obtained by the House Judiciary Committee.
The incident occurred on September 5, 2022, and is among several allegations of abuse against January 6 detainees at the facility. Former DOC employee Lieutenant Crystal Lancaster allegedly sprayed Ronald McAbee after he removed his face mask and refused to comply with her lockdown order.
McAbee filed a federal excessive-force lawsuit against Lancaster last month. He claims he had removed his mask to take oral medication when Lancaster sprayed him from less than four feet away. Following the spray attack, jail staff placed McAbee in a shower with very hot water, which amplified the burning sensation of the chemical spray, according to his lawsuit. McAbee was then placed in solitary confinement for three days without an opportunity to decontaminate despite multiple requests.
The lawsuit states that McAbee suffers continued physical and emotional trauma nearly two years later. It also alleges that the government used Lancaster’s attack to argue for an increased sentence for McAbee on grounds of having "an altercation with jail personnel while awaiting trial."
The House Judiciary Committee launched an investigation into the alleged assault in May. McAbee, a former Deputy at the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office on January 6, 2021, was convicted in October of five felonies related to that day’s events.
Rep. Troy E. Nehls (R-Texas) has been requesting bodycam footage and documents from the DC facility since January 2023. After more than a year of delays, Nehls and other committee members viewed the footage on June 12, 2024.
According to a Judiciary Committee letter to DOC Director Thomas Faust obtained by American Greatness, the footage confirms that Lancaster singled out McAbee for spraying within a short period of time despite other inmates not complying with mask mandates or lockdown orders.
The footage appears to suggest retaliation by Lancaster following an exchange of words with McAbee before she sprayed him again. A committee spokesman indicated that McAbee had taken off his mask to take medication.
During viewing, a DOC representative informed Nehls’ team that policy requires fresh clothes for inmates after being sprayed with chemical munitions; however, McAbee claimed he was given the same clothes worn during the altercation.
Rep. Nehls expressed serious concerns after viewing the footage: “My mission remains to get to the bottom of what truly happened between Mr. McAbee and Lieutenant Lancaster.”
Jordan, Ogles and Nehls stated that available footage did not clarify whether Lancaster properly assessed or used force appropriately against McAbee.
"The mistreatment of a prisoner is a serious allegation," they said in their letter while reiterating requests for additional footage and medical records related to McAbee’s treatment post-incident.
They advised DOC they might resort to compulsory measures if these requests remain unmet by July 15, 2024.