ANCHORAGE (AP) – A Wasilla construction worker faces federal charges in the January breach of the U.S. Capitol.
Aaron James Mileur, 41, was arrested March 16 by the FBI on charges of knowingly entering a restricted building without lawful authority, violent entry and disorderly conduct on U.S. Capitol grounds. The charges stemming from the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol are misdemeanors.
The case had been sealed until his arrest. He made an initial appearance March 16 in U.S. District Court in Anchorage, where federal prosecutors did not ask that Mileur be held in jail. Instead, they pushed for him to wear a GPS tracker.
Benjamin Muse, a government-paid public defender appointed to represent Mileur, declined comment in an email March 17 to The Associated Press.
Mileur is among more than 300 people charged in the attack on the U.S. Capitol, and federal prosecutors say at least 100 more could face charges. A mob of then-President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the building as Congress was voting to certify Joe Biden’s electoral win over Trump.
Like many others, the FBI says it tracked Mileur after being tipped off that he posted pictures and a video from inside the Capitol to his Facebook account. Someone who had a mutual Facebook friend with Mileur downloaded the photos and video and contacted the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center.
A video filmed inside the Capitol that did not show Mileur’s face was posted on both his account and another Facebook group page, titled Save Anchorage, according to court documents. A second tipster contacted the FBI about the post. Save Anchorage organized last summer against the city’s pandemic response and municipal assembly actions.
The Facebook account that appears to belong to Mileur — as identified by the FBI — contains a picture of Trump as the profile photo. The account has numerous conservative memes and commentary that were posted daily up the evening of March 15, the day before his arrest.
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