Judge allows Jan. 6 lawsuit alleging excessive force in DC jail to proceed

An excessive-force lawsuit by a pardoned former Jan. 6 defendant who was allegedly twice blasted in the face with pepper spray by a guard in the District of Columbia jail will proceed toward trial, a federal district court judge ruled on Sept. 19.

Judge Jia M. Cobb rejected a motion from lawyers for Crystal Lancaster to dismiss the excessive-force lawsuit brought against her and the District of Columbia by Ronald Colton McAbee of Unionville, Tenn.

The judge dismissed the District of Columbia as a defendant, saying McAbee’s claims of municipal liability in the case “are too conclusory for the court to allow those claims to go forward.”

‘I pray that the truth will prevail.’

Citing several U.S. Court of Appeals precedents, Judge Cobb said, “No officer confronting a person who was 1) subdued by officers, (2) had his hands behind his back, (3) was compliant, and (4) was not engaged in any threatening or assaultive conduct could possibly think it would be reasonable to spray that person in his face with a chemical agent.”

“Accordingly, McAbee’s excessive force claims can proceed against Lancaster,” she wrote in a 19-page memorandum opinion and order.

The pepper-spray incident occurred at about 9:45 a.m. on Sept. 5, 2022. McAbee left his cell in the C2B pod at the D.C. Central Treatment Facility to walk to a nearby medical cart to obtain his prescription medications. Witnesses said then-Lt. Lancaster shouted at McAbee to put on a COVID-19 mask.

After McAbee took his medication, the lawsuit alleges Lancaster 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 in his face.

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Ronald Colton McAbee is struck in the head by a riot stick wielded by a Metropolitan Police officer at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Metropolitan Police Department bodycam/Sarah McAbee

Sarah McAbee said her husband suffered painful aftereffects over the next several days. Even after he was 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.

Judge Cobb allowed the lawsuit to proceed on the two counts of alleged excessive force, saying the second instance of pepper spray to McAbee’s face is a stronger candidate as a violation of constitutional rights.

“It is clear, however, that the Due Process Clause protects a pretrial detainee from the use of excessive force that amounts to punishment,” the judge wrote.

Judge Cobb deferred ruling on which clause — the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment or the Fourth Amendment — applies to each of McAbee’s allegations. She asked both sides to prepare briefs on the issue.

The litmus tests for excessive force are “substantially similar” under both the Fourth Amendment and the 14th Amendment, Judge Cobb wrote.

“Both tests focus on objective reasonableness and direct lower courts to consider factors in assessing reasonableness, including ‘the relationship between the need for the use of force and the amount of force used, the extent of the plaintiff’s injury; any effort made by the officer to temper or to limit the amount of force, the severity of the security problem at issue; the threat reasonably perceived by the officer and whether the plaintiff was actively resisting,” Cobb wrote.

Judge Cobb said she will “allow McAbee’s claims that Lancaster used unconstitutionally excessive force against him.” McAbee “has pled a plausible excessive force claim against Lancaster.”

Judge Cobb rejected Lancaster’s claim of qualified immunity, saying the affirmative defense that shields officers from liability applies only if the conduct in question “does not violate clearly established statutory or constitutional law.”

McAbee told Blaze News he was encouraged by the judge’s ruling.

“I think it’s very exciting and telling that maybe we can go through with this case in D.C., where there is a bias against people like me,” he said.

“In reality this is about right vs. wrong. Going forward will bring justice and closure,” McAbee said. “I pray that the truth will prevail and the people that orchestrated this years-long delay and attack on me are put to justice, whatever that may look like.”

The District of Columbia Department of Corrections defied demands from U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) that security camera footage and Lancaster’s bodycam footage be released to the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary. Eventually Nehls was allowed to watch the video at the DOC offices but did not receive a copy.

Now McAbee will have opportunities to obtain the video as the case proceeds to the discovery phase.

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Colt McAbee on his way home after a pardon from President Trump. Photo courtesy of Sarah McAbee

McAbee was prosecuted by the Biden Department of Justice for alleged actions on Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol. Despite bodycam and other video showing he never assaulted Metropolitan Police Department Officer Andrew Wayte, a jury found him guilty of that count and six other criminal charges.

The case was marred by lies, manipulated evidence, and a possibly tainted jury to such a degree that defense attorney and former veteran DOJ prosecutor William Shipley called the result a “manifest injustice.”

McAbee was sentenced in late February 2024 to 70 months in prison. He was serving that sentence at the Federal Medical Center in Rochester, Minn., when President Donald J. Trump signed a pardon declaration that set him free after 1,252 days in government custody.

He walked out of FMC Rochester into minus-18-degree weather and into the arms of his wife, Sarah. “Best day of my life other than my wedding,” he told Blaze News at the time.

McAbee appealed his conviction in March 2024. On March 17, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated his criminal conviction and remanded the case to the district court, which dismissed it as moot.

Blaze News reached out to the District of Columbia Office of Attorney General for comment on Judge Cobb’s opinion.

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