Self-Proclaimed Member of the Proud Boys Enters Guilty Plea, Admits to Unloading Chemical Spray on Police During Jan. 6 Capitol Attack – By Marisa Sarnoff (Law and Crime) / April 7, 2022
A California man who has proclaimed to be a member of the Proud Boys extremist group has pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Ricky Willden, 40, admitted Thursday that while facing off against Capitol police, he unloaded a canister of chemical spray on the officers, and then threw the can at them when he was done.
“In publicly available videos recorded on Jan. 6, Willden can be seen in a crowd near the east door of the Capitol at 2:24 p.m. (according to time stamps in one of the videos) wearing a dark jacket, beanie cap and gloves, and cheering as the doors to the Capitol opened,” a Justice Department statement said. “At 2:35 p.m., he can be seen raising his hand and spraying an unknown substance from a green can toward police officers who were standing guard at the east door.”
