Pulaski man pleads guilty to charge in 2021 Capitol riot

A Wisconsin man pleaded guilty Friday to a federal assault charge after being accused of bragging in a social media message that he pepper-sprayed police officers so severely during the Jan. 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol that they had to undress.

Prosecutors charged 24-year-old Riley Kasper, of Pulaski, in March 2022 with counts in federal court that included assaulting an officer, disorderly conduct, and entering a restricted building with a deadly or dangerous weapon. Prosecutors said in a statement that Kasper pleaded guilty Friday to the assault charge. He will be sentenced in December.

According to court documents, Kasper carried a canister of what investigators believe was pepper spray during the attack at the Capitol building. He declared in a social media message to another person later that day that he "pepper sprayed 3 cops so bad they got undressed and went home." He also said that he was among a group that broke through a gate and chased police officers down.

The next day he communicated on social media that "there is definitely something satisfying about pepper spraying cops in riot gear."