WASHINGTON — A 19-year-old Cary man is accused of using what was believed to be bear spray on a line of law enforcement officers on Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol building, officials said.
Aiden Henry Bilyard was in a crowd of rioters in the Lower West Terrace area holding what appeared to be a large gold-colored canister, according to court documents.
Video shows Bilyard “pointing the nozzle of the canister toward a line of uniformed law enforcement officers that were attempting to secure the building and activating the propellant, discharging an orange-colored liquid spray,” officials said.
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The chemical irritant is believed to have been “bear spray,” which rioters used in efforts to incapacitate officers.
Later in the afternoon, Bilyard was again shown in video footage in a group gathered in front of a large glass window of the Capitol building.
Bilyard was handed a bat and used it to shatter the lower glass portion of the window. He then entered a Senate room through the broken window.
Bilyard was 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 Monday in Raleigh.
In the 10 months since Jan. 6, more than 675 people 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. The investigation remains ongoing.
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