ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - An Alaska man faces federal charges in the January breach of the U.S. Capitol.
Aaron James Mileur, 41, a construction worker from Wasilla, was arrested Tuesday by the FBI on charges of knowingly entering a restricted building without lawful authority, violent entry and disorderly conduct on U.S. Capitol grounds. Both charges stemming from the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol are misdemeanors, the Anchorage Daily News reported.
The case was sealed until his arrest Tuesday morning. He made an initial appearance Tuesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Anchorage, where federal prosecutors did not ask Mileur be jailed. Instead, they pushed for him to wear a GPS tracker.
Benjamin Muse, a public defender appointed to represent Mileur, declined comment in an email Wednesday 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 second 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 this post.
The Facebook account that appears to belong to Mileur and identified as so 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 until Monday evening.
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