Photo by Sarah McAbee, used with permission
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The District of Columbia Department of Corrections has refused a demand from the House Judiciary Committee for bodycam footage, security video, and medical records related to the September 2022 pepper-spray attack by a jail guard on Jan. 6 detainee Ronald Colton McAbee.
The refusal letter from the DOC deputy general counsel is the latest salvo in a war waged since 2023 by U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) to obtain and make public video that shows the attack.
It sets up the likelihood that the Judiciary Committee headed by U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) will issue a subpoena to compel release of the materials.
In a July 15 response to Jordan, Nehls, and U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), the DOC deputy counsel cited privacy issues and security of the jail in denying the surveillance video and bodycam footage demanded by the Judiciary Committee.
“The footage requested depicts schematic layouts, points of entry and exit, and arguably the most safety-sensitive aspect of all, the locations of security cameras in that unit,” Andrew Mazzuchelli wrote.
“The primary mission of the DOC is to ensure the safety and security of residents, staff, and the facility as a whole,” Mazzuchelli said. “Releasing the requested footage presents significant risks that could compromise this mission.”
Sarah McAbee, wife of Colton MacAbee, said the DOC letter offered only “flimsy excuses.”
U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) questions U.S. Marshals Service Director Ronald Davis about the pepper spray attack on Ronald Colton McAbee (pictured at rear) during a hearing of the Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance in February 2024.Emily Matthews/Office of Rep. Troy Nehls
“I am deeply disappointed by the D.C. Department of Corrections' continued stonewalling of congressional members, offering flimsy excuses for not releasing critical evidence,” McAbee said. “If there was nothing to hide, this information would have been made public long ago.”
On June 11, McAbee filed a federal lawsuit against former jail guard Lt. Crystal Lancaster and the District of Columbia, alleging excessive force, violations of civil rights, and pain and “continued physical and emotional trauma.” The lawsuit asks for unspecified compensatory and punitive damages and attorney fees. Lancaster and the D.C. government have not yet responded to the suit.
In June, the DOC allowed Nehls and a staff member to view the bodycam footage at DOC offices but refused to provide a copy of the video, according to a July 1 letter to DOC Director Thomas Faust from Jordan, Nehls, and Ogle.
'The mistreatment of a prisoner is a serious allegation, especially after a use-of-force tactic has been deployed.'
The video apparently shows an altercation between McAbee — who was in the jail awaiting trial on Jan. 6 charges — and Lancaster.
“For reasons unclear from the video footage, however, Lancaster appears to single out McAbee for not wearing his [COVID-19] mask or immediately returning to his cell,” the letter said. “Lancaster and McAbee appeared to exchange additional words before Lancaster sprayed McAbee with chemicals in his face.
“McAbee was sprayed once again by Lancaster shortly afterwards,” the letter said, “with less than a few minutes in between the discharge of the chemical munitions.”
The incident happened in the C2B pod of the Correctional Treatment Facility, which houses Jan. 6 detainees awaiting trial and those convicted who are awaiting transfer to the federal Bureau of Prisons. The U.S. Marshals, responsible for detainees charged with federal crimes, have a contract with the District of Columbia to house criminal detainees.
Witnesses said the trouble started when McAbee left his cell to walk to a nearby medical cart to obtain his prescription medications at about 9:45 a.m. on Sept. 5, 2022. Lancaster — who was suspended after the incident and has since been fired — shouted at McAbee to put on a COVID-19 mask. He did not comply and kept walking to retrieve his medication from the cart.
After McAbee took his medication, Lancaster reportedly sprayed him with oleoresin capsicum — a harsh chemical irritant sometimes referred to as pepper spray or pepper gel. After McAbee’s hands were cuffed behind his back, Lancaster allegedly fired another blast of OC spray.
“McAbee has informed Representative Nehls that he was not given fresh clothes after the altercation; rather he was given the same clothes he was wearing at the time of altercation,” the July 1 letter stated. “This is a serious allegation, as oleoresin capsicum (OC) sprays continue to stick to clothing and skin after use.”
'It is now clear that subpoenas are necessary to bring this matter to light.'
Sarah McAbee said her husband suffered painful aftereffects over the next several days. Even after being allowed a brief shower, the residue on McAbee’s skin reactivated, causing a painful burning sensation. He was put into a shower with warm water, which she said was like jumping into a hot tub after a third-degree sunburn.
Sarah McAbee told Blaze News that after the spray incident, her husband was put into solitary confinement and not given access to clean clothes or a thorough decontamination for three days.
“The mistreatment of a prisoner is a serious allegation, especially after a use-of-force tactic has been deployed,” the letter said. “While DOC claims to provide for an ‘orderly, safe, secure and humane environment,’ the video footage depicting the incident that occurred with McAbee on September 5, 2022, suggests that DOC did not meet that standard in this case.”
Sarah and Ronald Colton McAbee of Unionville, TennesseeSarah McAbee, used with permission
On Feb. 29, Mr. McAbee was sentenced to nearly six years in federal prison for his conviction on seven Jan. 6 criminal counts. The U.S. Department of Justice had asked for a prison term of 12.5 years.
A jury found McAbee guilty of assaulting a Metropolitan Police Department officer on Jan. 6, although the officer’s bodycam video showed McAbee was protecting him from rioters and trying to get him back to the police line at the front of the Lower West Terrace tunnel.
McAbee was among a group of Jan. 6 protesters who tried to get medical help for Rosanne Boyland of Kennesaw, Georgia, who collapsed outside the Lower West Terrace tunnel and a short time later reportedly was inexplicably beaten with a walking stick by Metropolitan Police Department Officer Lila Morris.
McAbee has since been moved out of D.C. and placed in a federal prison in Rochester, Minnesota, to serve his Jan. 6 sentence.
Sarah McAbee said she filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Inspector General a day after the alleged pepper-spray attack but never received a response.
During a Feb. 14 hearing of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance, Nehls told U.S. Marshals Service Director Ronald Davis it would be his “personal mission” to make sure the bodycam footage is made public.
Despite a pledge by Davis to work with Nehls’ staff, the Marshals never produced the bodycam video.
Nehls first filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the video in January 2023.
Sarah McAbee said she appreciates the efforts of Nehls, Jordan, and Ogles to get the video and medical records.
“It is now clear that subpoenas are necessary to bring this matter to light,” she said.
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