Save Anchorage Member Arrested in Connection with Capitol Hill Insurrection

The Anchorage Daily News reported this afternoon that Aaron James Mileur was arrested on federal charges in connection with the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

A search of the controversial Anchorage-based Save Anchorage Facebook group shows Mr. Mileur as a group member. Mr. Mileur's Facebook account "reacts" to posts and comments within the group.

The Save Anchorage group is directly mentioned in the FBI's Statement of Facts, where a video related to the Capitol Hill insurrection is reported to have been posted to the group by a Facebook account associated with Mr. Mileur. The FBI wrote:

"On January 11, 2021, the complainant was interviewed. The complainant stated that the Facebook photographs and video footage were posted onto MILEUR's Facebook account, at facebook.com/akman2469. The complainant was a Facebook friend with one of MILEUR's Facebook friends. The complainant provided the Facebook photographs and video footage of MILEUR in the United States Capitol Building.

The Facebook video depicted MILEUR recording himself inside the United States Capitol Building. A secondary complainant submitted a tip to the FBI NTOC with a video posted on Facebook by MILEUR. The video was posted to MILEUR's Facebook account as well as to the Facebook group called "Save Anchorage." The video does not depict MILEUR, however the video was recorded from inside the United States Capitol Building."

The FBI agent also added:

"The FBI determined that MILEUR's Driver's License photograph, appear consistent with the Facebook photographs and video footage provided by the complainants."

Alaska Public Media said of the Save Anchorage group last year:

"The 9,000 member Facebook page, which is now private, has also contributed to a spread of misinformation about the pandemic, the city’s public health measures, the homelessness situation, and other issues. Members routinely share information that has been debunked — among other things, that masks are ineffective or unhealthy, and that reported data on COVID-19 case numbers and deaths due to COVID-19 are being falsified."

Eagle River Assemblywoman Jamie Allard, and Bronson campaign manager Bernadette Wilson are known members of the Save Anchorage Facebook group which backed David Bronson in his bid for Anchorage mayor last summer.

This past year, Save Anchorage group members, some of whom were in attendance at an Anchorage Assembly meeting, audibly gasped at the suggestion President Biden had won a fair and free election in 2020.

Alaska State Senator Lora Reinbold, in a video posted last month, said she had worked with groups such as Save Anchorage, who she referred to as "constitutional freedom fighters."

A post made to what appears to be Mr. Mileur's Facebook page on January 14, 2021, purports to show a picture of Capitol Hill workers cleaning up after the insurrection on January 6.

In the caption written on the picture, Mr. Mileur allegedly wrote that the cleaners "ball up the flag and throw it away like trash. No better depiction of the transition of power than what is shown here. Pathetic…"

In another post taken from Mileur's Facebook account on February 9, 2021, Mr. Mileur (or someone in control of his Facebook account) asked, "What's really going on?? Is Biden really President???," and appears to have posted 33 different statements related to his question, a few of which are listed below:

• "The military is in charge because Donald Trump signed the Insurrection act. If the military is in charge, no president can be inaugurated. It's in the Constitution."
• "Q appears to be military intel, but nobody really knows."
• "Trump had 17 flags at his goodbye speech (17 is the number of Q) Many Q posts have been proven true."

It's not clear if Mr. Mileur subscribes to the QAnon conspiracy theory, which is not "fabricated," as some far-right bloggers have alleged.

In another social media post, made on January 7, 2021, the Save Anchorage member posted "Antifa was escorted into the building for their photo op."

Someone in control of the Facebook account appears to have claimed in the post that "their was a cop at the door" when he (I) "arrived."

A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.