January 6 ‘Under helmet sprayer’ imprisoned

A rioter who acted on January 6 and who investigators identified as “Under Helmet Sprayer” has been sentenced to three years and nine months in prison.

Footage from the 2021 Capitol riots shows Bryan Roger Bishop spraying an irritant under a police officer’s protective visor as Bishop and others struggle to get past police lines outside the building.

Bishop, of Marathon, Florida, also sprayed another officer in the eyes, prompting that officer to be removed from the police line.

On April 30, Bishop pleaded guilty to one count of assaulting, resisting or obstructing certain officers. Judge Timothy J. Kelly of the U.S. District Court in Washington, DC, has now sentenced the 52-year-old to 45 months in prison and 36 months of supervised release, and ordered him to pay $2,000 in restitution.

In the three years since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,488 people have been charged in nearly all 50 states with crimes related to the storming of the U.S. Capitol, including nearly 550 people charged with assaulting or obstructing law enforcement officers, the Justice Department said.

In an attempt to prevent the official certification of the 2020 election results that gave Joe Biden the presidency, supporters of then-President Donald Trump descended on the Capitol.

The former president continues to claim, without evidence, that the election was rigged through widespread voter fraud, but denies inciting the violence during the Capitol riots.

Members of Congress later expressed fear as protesters stormed offices and attacked police officers inside the building.

A Justice Department press release about Bishop’s sentencing said: “On January 6, 2021, at approximately 2:00 p.m., a group of rioters breached several barriers erected on the west side of the Capitol and attempted to overwhelm the police officers stationed there.

“At approximately 2:02 p.m., Bishop emerged from the crowd and aimed and sprayed a chemical irritant at the line of police officers.”

The statement continued: “Bishop sprayed an orange chemical irritant directly into the face of a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer and then sprayed a second MPD officer by aiming the spray upward so it could spray under the officer’s face shield.

“After spraying officers on the West Plaza, Bishop entered the Capitol at approximately 2:39 p.m. Once inside, Bishop walked through several rooms, including the Rotunda, Statuary Hall, and the Statuary Hall Connector. After approximately 17 minutes, Bishop exited the Capitol at approximately 2:56 p.m..”

The FBI offices in Miami, San Antonio and Washington are investigating the case, the Justice Department said.

According to the complaint, Sedition Hunters, an independent website that tries to identify the Jan. 6 rioters, labeled a man who used orange spray as an “Under Helmet Sprayer” because of the way he deliberately sprayed behind a police officer’s visor.

The complaint included a screenshot of the man’s photos on the website. Bishop was arrested in Florida on August 8, 2023.

A federal judge in Florida granted him bail on the condition that he surrender his passport and not keep firearms in his home.