The Pepper-Spraying Cop Who Made History

As he casually wielded that canister, Lt. John Pike of the UC-Davis police force had no idea how (in)famous he would become.
Yankee Doodle

When a video of UC-Davis police Lt. John Pike casually pepper-spraying peaceful student protesters hit the web on November 18, it sparked outrage. It also gave birth to an internet meme. On November 20, artist James Alex started a trend by photoshopping Pike and his giant pepper spray canister into iconic paintings like George Seurat's La Grande Jatte and John Trumbull's Declaration of Independence and posting them on his Tumblr account. A day later, the meme had spread across the internet, with Photoshop-savvy netizens inserting Pike into an array of iconic images. Here are some of the best.