Thomas Andrew Casselman pleaded guilty to a felony offense of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers in the Jan. 6, 2021, riots. (Photos from court documents)
A man from South Carolina whose post-rioting online searches included, “What is the definition of a domestic terrorist,” admitted to assaulting officers during the Capitol breach by spraying them with “bear mace.”
Thomas Andrew Casselman, 30, entered his guilty plea to a felony offense of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers. He is set to be sentenced on July 18.
Casselman was among a crowd of rioters gathered on the West Plaza of the Capitol grounds that day for Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally.
In addition to searching domestic terrorist definitions online, he also sought out legal information such as “The statute of limitations for assault on a police officer,” “The statute of limitations for assault on a federal officer,” “assaulting a federal officer punishment,” and “How long does Verizon keep text messages” before the FBI arrested him on March 28, 2023.
Like many of the rioters, he came onto the FBI’s radar through social media after images were published online. He was designated on FBI BOLO #363-AFO as a white male with light brown facial hair wearing a dark gray cap, black face mask, American flag gaiter or scarf around the neck, black jacket, and backpack.
He was captured on camera spraying law enforcement officers with an orange-colored chemical irritant colloquially known as “bear spray” or “bear mace.” The substance is marketed and designed to be used against bears, not humans.
Officers reported being sprayed with it. In one interview, a Washington, D.C. Metropolitan police officer said rioters sprayed him multiple times with chemical agents, including “bear mace.” He wasn’t wearing a gas mask to help defeat the irritant, so the effects hurt him badly. He reported his lungs seized up, he experienced convulsions, and he could hardly breathe, court documents said.
Another DC cop said rioters sprayed him twice. He said the spraying he received in police academy training with oleoresin capsicum spray — or “OC spray” — was nothing compared to the bear spray he believed he was hit with on Jan. 6.
Tipsters who identified Casselman to the feds said he bragged about going to Washington, telling them he had been hit with tear gas while there, and shared photographs and videos from his time there that day.
One witness said Casselman had cut his hair and deleted his Facebook account after the events.
In an interview with FBI agents on Dec. 28, 2021, Casselman admitted to being in Washington on Jan. 6, 2021. He said his father even bought him a train ticket.
He also told agents he had post-traumatic stress disorder from the riots and had deleted his photographs and social media accounts, adding, “I don’t know if that falls under destruction of evidence,” court documents said.
When an agent showed him a picture of FBI BOLO #363-AFO and asked if it was him, he declined to answer further questions without a lawyer present.
