CARY, N.C. (WNCN) – A 19-year-old man from North Carolina was accused this week of storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 with a can of bear spray.
Aidan Bilyard, of Cary, is charged with engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, civil disorder, and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers with a dangerous weapon, among other charges. He was arrested in Raleigh on Monday and made an initial appearance in federal court.
Federal officials said Bilyard can be seen on video spraying law enforcement officers with a chemical irritant believed to have been “bear spray.” Rioters used the spray to incapacitate officers, Department of Justice officials said.
Bilyard is also accused of using a bat to smash a window of the Capitol. He then entered a Senate room through the broken window, federal officials said.
Federal documents show the FBI interviewed Bilyard in August as he was going through basic training at Lackland Air Force Base near San Antonio.
Bilyard told agents he was at the Capitol that day but only took part in lawful activities. After agents showed Bilyard videos of his “apparent participation,” the 19-year-old said, “This is where I take my leave.”
A cellphone connected to Bilyard was also tracked inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, court documents show.
After the FBI spoke with Bilyard in Texas, he left the Air Force and moved back to Cary.
“He always seemed like a good kid. Quiet,” said Cary resident Michelle Hopkins, adding that she was surprised to learn Bilyard was accused of storming the Capitol as Congress met to certify President Joe Biden’s electoral win in the 2020 election.
“It’s just surprising,” she said. “I don’t even know what to say.”
Hopkins said she also found it curious that Bilyard left for basic training only to return a few months later, though she never learned why until recently.
“We didn’t ask questions,” she said. “We all make mistakes, but it’s kind of like you have to learn.”
The FBI used photos on Bilyard’s mother’s Facebook page to help identify the 19-year-old, who was wearing the same gray sweatshirt with “Harvard” across the chest on Jan. 6, federal documents say.
Agents also interviewed his mother, who admitted to finding a canister matching the “bear spray” the photos, in the back of Bilyard’s vehicle. She disposed of it after Bilyard told her he found it on the ground outside the Capitol, and that it was OK to throw away, federal documents say.
In the 10 months since Jan. 6, more than 675 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 210 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.