An Oregon man who admitted to targeting a federal law-enforcement aircraft with a high-powered laser during a wave of anti-immigration enforcement agitation has been convicted on federal charges.
According to The Post Millennial, 38-year-old Brian K. Kapileo Nepaial of Aloha pleaded guilty in the US District Court in Oregon to aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He now faces a potential maximum of 45 years in federal prison, a $5,250,000 fine, and eight years of supervised release, underscoring how seriously federal authorities treat attacks on aviation and narcotics trafficking.
Prosecutors said the incident occurred on October 3, 2025, when a US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) helicopter was struck by a high-powered green laser as it prepared to land at the Hillsboro airport. The laser strike forced the aircraft to abort its planned landing, and the flight crew observed Kapileo Nepaial walking near a residence before he disappeared from view.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) subsequently identified the residence and executed a federal search warrant on October 10, 2025, as part of a broader effort to protect federal personnel and secure the airspace. During the search of Kapileo Nepaials home, agents found a laser in his bedroom and more than 100 grams of methamphetamine, as well as evidence of drug trafficking, according to an FBI affidavit.
Images released by authorities, including a Screenshot from the CBP video of the helicopter being struck by a green laser beam, show the danger posed to pilots by such attacks. Additional photographs captioned FBI agents located a laser and illicit drugs during the execution of a search warrant further document the evidence seized in the case.
Following his arrest, Kapileo Nepaial admitted to striking the CBP helicopter with a laser to FBI agents, according to court documents. The attack came amid a series of laser assaults on helicopters that coincided with President Trumps crackdown on anti-ICE rioters at the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Portland, Oregon.
Federal helicopters had been circling above the ICE facility as a deterrent while Antifa-aligned agitators laid siege to the building for months, engaging in arson attacks, assault on federal police officers with deadly weapons, and impeding immigration enforcement. In response, demonstrators organized to target helicopters with lasers, including those involved with Antifa groups, a designated terrorist organization, and emergency medical flights were forced to divert.
Just days before Kapileo Nepaials attack, another high-powered laser incident against a CBP helicopter prompted a joint FBI, HSI, and FPS raid on a Portland residence on September 29, 2025. Agents made contact with the primary subject and determined he was an illegal immigrant, and found three additional occupants who were also illegally present in the US, with all four taken into ICE custody.
Court records show Kapileo Nepaial has multiple prior felony convictions and charges in Oregon dating back to 2008, all related to illegal drugs, highlighting a long pattern of criminal behavior intersecting with radical anti-enforcement activism. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 28 at the Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse, a case that will test whether the justice system is prepared to impose serious penalties on those who endanger law enforcement and undermine President Trumps efforts to restore order at the border and in Americas cities.
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