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A Milwaukie man was arrested on Tuesday by the FBI for his alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the nation’s Capitol. The man, Andy Steven Oliva-Lopez, has been charged with multiple federal felonies, including civil disorder and assaulting a Maryland police officer.
Oliva-Lopez was captured on video climbing over barricades outside the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, wearing a gas mask and then spraying police officers with what appeared to be bear spray. He was later the subject of an FBI “be on the lookout” bulletin, as well as a campaign ad for President Joe Biden (in which he was used as an exhibit of the threat posed to democracy).
Online sleuths quickly identified Oliva-Lopez, known as the “Blue Plaid Sprayer” for his distinctive shirt, NBC News reported. It would take another two years, however, for the FBI to officially identify him.
According to an affidavit filed in federal court in the District of Columbia, Oliva-Lopez was part of “a crowd of violent rioters” that day. Investigators identified him by comparing images of his face taken during the riot with his driver’s license photo and social media posts. Phone records showed he was in Washington, D.C., on the days leading up to Jan. 6.
Bank records also revealed a string of purchases along Interstate 80 suggesting a cross-country journey shortly before the insurrection. They also showed he’d “purchased a two-pack of 7.9-ounce canisters of UDAP Bear Spray at a sporting goods store in Portland, Oregon, on December 20, 2020.”
Since 2021, Oliva-Lopez created a remodeling business, which he’s been advertising on social media. The business was incorporated last year with a three-bedroom Milwaukie home listed as its mailing address.
The U.S. Justice Department says it’s charged “more than 1,265 individuals” in “nearly all 50 states” for their participation in the Jan. 6 riots. Some of those charges have already resulted in convictions, including of the handyman who smoked a joint in the offices of U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.).