Nathaniel Wetter Taylor, the protester who allegedly pepper-sprayed two special police officers outside of the Heritage Foundation last year, delivered his own opening statement before a jury Thursday, attacking Heritage as “fascist” and claiming that the officers violated his rights. Appearing in the D.C. Superior Court, Taylor told the jury that his actions were a “simple case of freedom of speech and protecting yourself.”  Taylor held a solo protest at the Heritage Foundation on June 11, 2025. He walked up to the Heritage Foundation’s front doors holding a sign and a recording smartphone.   When two special police officers, who are licensed to protect and make arrests on Heritage property, attempted to remove Taylor from the property, he pepper-sprayed one of them in the eyes and the other in the mouth, according to security video footage of the incident.   He was later arrested and charged with two misdemeanor counts of assaulting a police officer.   Taylor’s trial began on Thursday, and he chose to represent himself and deliver his own opening statement before a 12-person jury.   Taylor, an Illinois resident, explained to the court that he chose to travel to Washington, D.C., to “voice concerns” about the second administration of President Donald Trump and Project 2025. He had protested many times that month, including at Heritage on June 9, 2025, just two days before his arrest.  Taylor spent much of his opening statement explaining why he chose to protest the Heritage Foundation on the morning of June 11.  He claimed the conservative think tank was a “fascist and authoritarian” establishment and that Project 2025 would strip away the rights of the American people. “These rights are under attack, but I believe they still exist,” Taylor told the jury. Taylor contested many of the elements that the prosecution would need to prove for the jury to convict him. The defendant argued that he was on public property and that the officers have jurisdiction to make arrests only on private property. “The area where I stood is clearly established on record as public property,” Taylor said of the walkway imprinted with the signature Heritage “bell” logo that leads to the foundation’s front door.  He said he had no idea that the Heritage officers were in fact special police officers and had mistaken them for Heritage staff.  During the incident, he told the officers to call the police, and Taylor cited this as evidence of his confusion. He told the officers that if police told him to move, he would do so. “If I knew they were police, would I have asked them to call police?” he said. Taylor also justified his decision to pepper-spray the officers as a move of self-defense. “Because I was afraid I was about to be injured, I defended myself,” he explained.  The prosecution, however, argued that the officers had the ability to remove Taylor because he was on Heritage’s property, which they have authority to protect.   The prosecution said that Taylor walked past the red-brick designated public sidewalk onto the gray concrete of the Heritage Foundation entrance, went beyond the clearly displayed Heritage logo on the concrete, passed the fence, and approached the front door.   Additionally, the prosecution emphasized the officers’ attempt to deescalate the situation. At first, the officers asked Taylor to back away from the door. Only after he refused did the officers walk him back to the private sidewalk.  After they disengaged, Taylor shot them with pepper-spray, allegedly assaulting the two officers.   “Heritage believes in the First Amendment and respects American citizens’ right to disagree and to protest peacefully,” Eric Korsvall, chief operating officer at The Heritage Foundation, told the Daily Signal last year. “However, physical threats, attacks, and violence cross the line. Full stop.”  The trial is scheduled to reconvene on Monday, June 8 for each side to present their case before the court.