DA IDs gas-masked man accused of pepper spraying Woburn court

A Yarmouth man was ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation Monday after he allegedly walked into Woburn District Court wearing a gas mask and pepper sprayed several officials. 

Nicholas Akerberg, 28, entered the courthouse around 10:30 a.m. decked out in a helmet, gas mask, tactical boots, and sunglasses, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan’s office said in a news release. A court officer and others tried unsuccessfully to stop Akerberg from getting past the door, according to the release. 

Once inside, Akerberg allegedly deployed pepper spray at multiple court officers, a Stoneham police officer, and an assistant district attorney. Prosecutors also say Akerberg punched, shoved, and assaulted several people before officers were able to subdue him with a Taser and arrest him. 

A subsequent investigation allegedly revealed he was armed with eight canisters of pepper spray and two smoke canisters, according to the DA’s office. Akerberg, the police officer, and two court officers were taken to a local hospital following Monday’s incident and have since been released, prosecutors said. 

“I want to condemn today’s attack on the Court, the Court staff and the Justice system in the strongest possible terms,” Ryan said in a statement. “Courts are sacred, hallowed places.”

Akerberg was arraigned Monday on six counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, five counts of assault and battery on a public employee, two counts of assault and battery on a police officer, and single charges of assault, disrupting a court proceeding, disorderly conduct, making a bomb threat, and intimidation, the DA’s office said. 

He pleaded not guilty to the charges and was ordered held pending a dangerousness hearing. Akerberg’s bail was also revoked in several open Woburn District Court cases, and he was ordered to undergo a competency evaluation. Boston.com has reached out to Akerberg’s listed attorneys for comment. 

Court records indicate Akerberg’s pending Woburn cases include at least two alleged incidents involving pepper spray, and his charges span assault and battery, assault with a dangerous weapon, and assault and battery on a police officer, among other counts. Documents filed in those cases also indicate Akerberg has a long history of mental illness and is well known to police in Stoneham, where he previously lived.

“Nicks [sic] history of threats and displayed violence has been of concern to the department and displays a serious need for additional interventions,” a Stoneham police sergeant wrote in an April 2024 report after Akerberg was accused of pepper spraying a neighbor. 

Akerberg is due back in court May 2 for a detention hearing.  

Monday’s incident prompted the temporary evacuation of Woburn District Court, which reopened for “limited business” hours later. Ryan emphasized the need to “foster respect for our courts and our dedicated court staffs,” noting the alleged assault was the third serious incident at a courthouse in just over a month. 

“These are not just acts of violence, they are challenges to the rule of law and to peaceful, orderly dispute resolution,” she added. “The rule of law is not a fancy academic concept, it is the foundation of our democracy. Anyone who desecrates these sacred places will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Abby Patkin is a general assignment news reporter whose work touches on public transit, crime, health, and everything in between. She has been covering the Karen Read murder case.