Man accused of pepper spraying U.S. Capitol police pleads guilty to assault

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A New Jersey man accused of pepper spraying police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, including one who died the next day, pleaded guilty on Thursday to felony assault charges, the Justice Department said.

Julian Khater and a childhood friend, George Tanios, had pepper and bear spray with them as they breached the Capitol grounds, the department said. Khater sprayed three officers directly in the face with the pepper spray, the department said.

Tanios, 40, who was originally charged with criminal counts including felony assault, pleaded guilty in July to lesser misdemeanor charges. Prosecutors had offered Khater, 33, a deal in which he would plea guilty to two felony assault counts.

Khater pleaded guilty to the two counts of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers with a dangerous weapon during a hearing in U.S. District Court, the department said. He will be sentenced on Dec. 13, it added.

Khater faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine not exceeding $250,000, according to his plea agreement. Tanios faces a term of zero to six months in prison under U.S. sentencing guidelines.

One of the officers Khater is accused of spraying is Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died of natural causes following multiple strokes the day after the attack. Tanios and Khater were not charged in connection with Sicknick's death.

The two men were among thousands of supporters of then-President Donald Trump who stormed the Capitol in a failed bid to block Congress from certifying President Joe Biden's 2020 election victory.

The Justice Department says it has arrested more than 860 people for crimes related to the breach of the Capitol, including over 260 who were charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.

(Reporting by Rami Ayyub; Editing by Richard Chang)