Louisville man charged with using bear spray against Capitol Police during Jan. 6 riot

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville man was indicted for allegedly assaulting law enforcement officers with what is believed to be bear spray during the breach of the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021.

Andrew Kyle Grigsby, 29, was charged with five felonies, including civil disorder and assaulting, resisting or impeding officers while using a dangerous weapon and inflicting injury.

Grigsby was also indicted on charges he entered and remained in a restricted building with a dangerous weapon, disorderly conduct and physical violence inside the building. He is also facing two misdemeanors.

Grigsby was arraigned Jan. 10 and is currently incarcerated in Washington according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Grigsby was already serving a prison sentence for a conviction last year on a charge of possession of child porn, according to court records.

According to the news release, Grigsby entered the Capital Grounds through the northwest stairwell of the building, approached a police line and sprayed officers with what investigators believe to be bear mace.

Officers temporarily retreated from the spray, with one officer saying he was unable to breathe or see "without unbearable, tortuous pain," according to the news release.

The officer said Grigsby intentionally sprayed him.

On April 27, 2021, Grigsby told the Louisville FBI he'd been in Washington because President Donald Trump had asked people to come to the Capitol. But Grigsby denied entering the Capitol Building and said that while he had found a can of bear spray, he was attempting to spray rioters as they were assaulting police, according to the FBI’s arrest warrant from November.

But surveillance cameras showed Grigsby raise the canister and disperse the spray at law enforcement, according to an FBI affidavit. Grigsby also stood in between rioters and police officers while holding a police riot shield, according to surveillance video.

While Grigsby was arrested in November, his indictment was just unsealed this week.

In the 48 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,583 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 600 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony.

This story will be updated.

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