PHOTO: U.S. Attorneys Office
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WTAQ-WLUK) – A Pulaski man convicted of pepper-spraying police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack at the U.S. Capitol argues he should get a shorter sentence at a hearing Tuesday than what prosecutors are recommending due to his “lack of full maturity” at the time, and efforts since then to rebuild his life.
Riley Kasper, now 25, previously pleaded guilty to a federal charge of assault. Sentencing is Tuesday before District of Columbia Judge Royce Lamberth.
In court filings last week, the government recommended a 41-month prison term, followed by three years on supervised release. Kasper’s attorney recommended a 34-month prison term.
Defense attorney Christopher Nathan said Kasper has matured in the three years since participating the attack.
“The Defendant’s age at the time of the offense, and corresponding lack of full maturity arguably contributed to the thinking errors that caused him to drive to Washington, D.C. in the first instance. His immaturity is reflected by the fact that instead of remaining in Wisconsin with his child and child’s mother, he drove to this District. But, in contrast to who the Defendant was then, today he is the devoted father of a four-year-old daughter with whom he resides, alongside the child’s mother, his significant other of eight years,” Nathan wrote.
Kasper has learned a trade, purchased a home, and is now primary source of income for his family.
“It is sensible to write about the Defendant’s efforts toward self-rehabilitation because the Defendant’s offense conduct was arguably a (criminal) manifestation of some misguided feeling of disenfranchisement. To the extent that the Defendant’s actions were the symptom of his feelings of ostracization, the probability of his recovery from such feelings is increased through his residence in a home he purchased for himself and his family in August of 2023,” Nathan wrote.
And, Nathan credits Kasper for taking responsibility for what he did.
“None of the above is intended to justify or excuse the Defendant’s crimes. Neither is it intended to even remotely suggest that anyone else is to blame for the Defendant’s actions. The Defendant knows, like everyone else, that he is responsible and accountable for what he did. Unlike many individuals present, the Defendant was not associated with any extremist groups. Additionally, the Defendant was not directly involved in the instant conduct where individuals pushed down police barricades. There is also the obvious absence of aggravation due to the Defendant’s decision to not enter Capitol Building itself. A single, isolated assault constitutes the bulk of the Defendant’s offense,” Nathan said.
In his brief, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Brunwin argued a 41-month sentence is appropriate, noting Kasper’s bragging about pepper spraying three officers.
“Kasper’s felonious conduct on January 6, 2021 was part of a massive riot that almost succeeded in preventing the certification vote from being carried out, frustrating the peaceful transition of Presidential power, and throwing the United States into a Constitutional crisis. Kasper was on the front lines of that attack and contributed to it by assaulting law enforcement officers with a dangerous weapon. The nature and circumstances of Kasper’s offense were of the utmost seriousness, and fully support the government’s recommended sentence of 41 months incarceration,” Brunwin wrote.
The sentence would also act as a deterrent, he argued.
“There is a strong need to deter Kasper from other criminal acts because, as evidenced by his actions and social media posts, he wanted to assault officers. He found “something satisfying” in it. It made him feel that he was “a f*****’ badass.” Further, the strong need for deterrence remains even if Kasper attempts to show remorse in his sentencing memorandum or at the sentencing hearing. Against any last-minute expression of remorse, this Court should heavily weigh Kasper’s social media statements that celebrated causing pain and fear in others, even after January 6 had passed,” Brunwin said. “Kasper attacked officers and then enthusiastically posted about endangering them and causing them to fear for their lives. Kasper’s celebration of January 6, and lack of remorse in the days that followed, presents a strong need for specific deterrence.”
The government also wants Kasper to pay $2,000 towards the $2.9 million in damages caused to the Capitol that day.
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.”
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