Background: Photo allegedly depicting Frank Dahlquist in surveillance footage from Jan. 6, 2021 using pepper spray to assault police. Courtesy of DOJ./Inset: Frank Dahlquist photo included in the statement of facts from FBI.
A fire chief in Montana who tried to hide his face as he allegedly assaulted police at the U.S. Capitol with a barrage of pepper spray on Jan. 6, 2021, has been arrested after online sleuths helped track him down.
Frank Dahlquist, chief of the West Valley Fire Rescue in the Big Sky state, was arrested on Wednesday, according to court records reviewed Thursday by Law&Crime. His arrest was first reported by Court Watch.
West Valley Fire Rescue, which services at least four counties in Montana according to its website, did not immediately return a request for comment to Law&Crime about how the department would cope with the disruption to its leadership.
Dahlquist, identified by online sleuths as “#GreyScaleSprayer” in March 2021 faces four charges: knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building, forcibly assaulting, resisting, opposing or impeding an officer, obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder; and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
Sleuths helped identify him by unearthing photos of him on Jan. 6 which were then compared with facial recognition software to an interview he gave in April 2022 reported by NBC affiliate KING.
He was working in Washington state at the time and was publicly speaking out along with other firefighters against COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
Dahlquist’s identity was also confirmed when the FBI interviewed two of his former co-workers in Washington state. They recognized his face, mannerisms and even a “buff,” or neck gaiter he wore on Jan. 6, the affidavit states, because Dahlquist wore that same gaiter to work regularly.
In the affidavit, an FBI agent noted how Dahlquist was photographed and captured on video by multiple cameras on Jan. 6 both in and out of the Capitol. His cellphone number pinged near the Capitol and text messages obtained by the FBI also revealed him boasting about his activities that day, telling one friend: “It was a great day! It got spicy but I love the taste of Freedom.”
The “spicy” reference commonly refers to the use of pepper spray.
Other footage appears to show him attempting to hurl a large piece of lumber at police on the Capitol’s Upper West Terrace. Though he got it “up into the air and towards law enforcement officers,” the projectile fell short and did not hit any police, the affidavit notes.
Left: Photo depicting Frank Dahlquist, pictured in the yellow box, allegedly pepper spraying police officers at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Courtesy DOJ./ Right: Surveillance footage allegedly shows Frank Dahlquist throwing a piece of lumber in the air in the direction of police guarding the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Courtesy DOJ.
Dahlquist is accused of climbing through a Senate wing window to get inside the Capitol just around 3 p.m. and then using his cellphone to record himself moving through the building. The phone he was using was the same one identified by his former supervisor in Washington state and later confirmed by phone records, the FBI said. As he allegedly obstructed officers trying to clear the building for roughly a half-hour, he is accused of continuing his antics on the Upper West Terrace until nearly 4:30 p.m.
It is unclear if Dahlquist has retained an attorney.
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