Sentenced to 40 months in prison for assaulting law enforcement officers during Capitol breach
Aiden Henry Bilyard Sentenced for Assaulting Law Enforcement Officers During Capitol Breach
On Thursday, Aiden Henry Bilyard, 20, of Cary, North Carolina was sentenced to 40 months in prison for assaulting Metropolitan Police Department officers using a dangerous weapon during the breach of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. In addition to the prison term, US District Court Judge Reggie B. Walton ordered 36 months of supervised release and $3,500 in restitution.
Bilyard's Actions
According to court documents, Bilyard was carrying a gold-colored canister of “home defense pepper gel” at approximately 2:35 p.m. on Jan. 6. He pointed the nozzle of the canister at officers who were attempting to prevent the mob from proceeding further towards the Capitol Building, then discharged the chemical irritant towards the group of officers. The officers retreated through a stairwell to the Lower West Terrace.
At approximately 4:10 p.m., Bilyard was in a group of rioters massed in front of a glass window to the Capitol Building. He encouraged an individual who was striking the window with what a metal tomahawk, and was handed a bat which he used to shatter the lower glass portion of the window. He then turned to face the crowd, clapping and shouting in an act of encouragement for people to start entering the building. Bilyard also crawled through the window he had shattered to enter the Capitol.
FBI Investigation
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Charlotte Field Office, with valuable assistance from the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the Metropolitan Police Department, and the U.S. Capitol Police. It was prosecuted by the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section, with valuable assistance from the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
In the 26 months since January 6, 2021, more than 999 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the US Capitol, including more than 320 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.
