Nehls Presses DC Department of Corrections for Lack of Transparency Regarding J6 Prisoner Incident

Representative Troy Nehls (R-TX) and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) are pressing the Director of the D.C. Department of Corrections (DOC), Thomas Faust, after reports that January 6 protestor Ronald “Colton” McAbee may have received excessive force in an altercation while in prison.

McAbee is serving a 70-month sentence after he was convicted by jury of five felonies and pleaded guilty to another felony charge of assaulting, resisting, or impeding a second officer as well as a separate misdemeanor charge, according to Axios.

According to Rep. Nehls, McAbee was in an altercation with DOC employee Lieutenant Crystal Lancaster in September of 2022. The excessive force in question includes the alleged unprompted discharge of “chemical munitions in Mr. McAbee’s face.”

The Texas congressman has requested footage of the incident for 15 months, but to no avail. He believes this demonstrates the DOC’s “continued lack of transparency, obstruction, and unwillingness” to share the desired truth.

“For well over a year now, I have been trying to obtain the body camera footage of Lieutenant Lancaster that I believe would reveal a civil rights violation against former D.C. DOC J6 detainee, Mr. McAbee,” said Rep. Nehls. “It remains my mission to uncover this footage to get to the bottom of what really happened between Mr. McAbee and Lieutenant Lancaster. Every detainee, including J6 detainees, deserves to be treated humanely and receive due process. I thank my colleague, Chairman Jordan, for joining me in this effort.”

In the letter, Reps. Nehls and Jordan wrote, “While DOC claims to provide for an ‘orderly, safe, secure and humane environment,’ [the] alleged incident that occurred with Mr. McAbee on September 5, 2022, suggests otherwise. Any allegation of the mistreatment of a federal detainee should be taken seriously and fully investigated. The DOC’s repeated attempts to prevent a Member of Congress from obtaining the body camera footage hinders Congress’s ability to conduct oversight and to adequately assess whether the DOC has failed to hold officers accountable for their alleged misconduct.”

At the end of the letter, the two members of the House Judiciary Committee requested the body cam footage of the incident, all documents and communication regarding the investigation of the incident as well as Nehls’ request, and information surrounding the possible disciplinary action taken against Lieutenant Lancaster.