WASHINGTON — A Donald Trump supporter who bear-sprayed officers during the Jan. 6 attack, and whose photo was featured in a Joe Biden ad early this year, has pleaded guilty, admitting that he hit at least three officers during the attack, temporarily blinding at least two of them.
Andy Steven Oliva-Lopez — whom online sleuths had dubbed "Blue Plaid Sprayer" because he was wearing a blue plaid shirt along with a helmet and a gas mask when he unleashed chemical spray on officers protecting the Capitol — pleaded guilty Wednesday. His sentencing was set for Jan. 17, 2025, just days before the next president will be inaugurated at the U.S. Capitol.
In early 2024, before he was arrested, a photo of Oliva-Lopez pepper-spraying officers was featured in both a Joe Biden campaign and a presentation on the Capitol attack caseload by U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves. NBC News reported on Jan. 6, 2024, that online sleuths had identified him about two years earlier and turned that information over to law enforcement. Weeks later, the FBI arrested Oliva-Lopez in Oregon, confirming the sleuths' identification.
An agreed-upon statement of offense noted that one officer who was hit by Oliva-Lopez's bear spray described the pain as a nine out of 10, saying he "experienced a burning sensation in his eyes which made it impossible to see" and had to leave the police line for two to three hours after the assault. Another officer "similarly experienced an immediate burning sensation (an 8 out of 10 on a pain scale), the inability to see, and difficulty breathing" and had to leave the police line to go to an eye wash station inside the Capitol. "Both officers report that the orange spray went under their face shields and contacted their faces directly," the statement of offense notes.
Oliva-Lopez's plea agreement says his estimated sentencing guidelines range is 51 to 63 months in federal prison. As NBC News reported after his arrest, online "sedition hunters" who have aided federal authorities in hundreds of Jan. 6 cases identified Olivia-Lopez with the help of facial recognition technology, finding photos of him at a pro-Trump "American Lives Matter" rally at the State Capitol in Oregon a few months before the U.S. Capitol attack. A social media account that appeared to be associated with Olivia-Lopez boosted Trump posts in which he falsely claimed he had won the 2020 election, which he lost.
“Cross the rubicon, the legions are right behind you," the account said in December 2020, boosting another Trump post, adding: "#CivilWar2."
Trump has referred to Jan. 6 rioters as "political prisoners," "hostages," "warriors" and “unbelievable patriots" and promised to pardon "a large portion" of them as one of his first acts if he is elected president again in November. Trump said he'd "absolutely" consider pardoning every rioter, a group that would include hundreds of criminals convicted of assaulting officers during an attack in which rioters brandished firearms, stun guns, flagpoles, fire extinguishers, bike racks, batons, a metal whip, office furniture, pepper spray, bear spray, a tomahawk ax, a hatchet, a hockey stick, knuckle gloves, a baseball bat, a massive “Trump” billboard, “Trump” flags, a pitchfork, pieces of lumber, crutches and even an explosive device. At least 140 officers were assaulted during the attack, and several died in the aftermath: one of natural causes, others by suicide.
About 1,500 defendants have been charged in connection with the attack, and federal prosecutors have secured more than 1,000 convictions, as well as hundreds of prison sentences ranging from a few days behind bars to 22 years in federal prison for a Proud Boys leader convicted of seditious conspiracy. Arrests continue: Last week, the FBI arrested two brothers who it says assaulted a New York Times photographer who appeared to snap their photo during the Jan. 6 attack.
Trump himself faces four charges in connection with Jan. 6 and his efforts to overturn his election loss, with a federal grand jury charging he knowingly spread "unsupported, objectively unreasonable, and ever-changing" election misinformation as part of a conspiracy to stay in power despite his loss. Trump has pleaded not guilty, and a potential trial would move forward only if he loses the presidential election again this year.
