Oregon man pleads guilty to shining high-powered laser at CBP helicopter in anti-ICE Portland attack

An Oregon man has been convicted of shining a high-powered laser at a US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) helicopter in an anti-immigration enforcement attack. Brian K. Kapileo Nepaial, 38, of Aloha, pleaded guilty to charges on Thursday in the US District Court in Oregon, located in downtown Portland.

Kapileo Nepaial has been convicted of aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He faces a maximum combined sentence of 45 years in federal prison, a $5,250,000 fine, and eight years of supervised release.


Brian K. Kapileo Nepaial. Courtesy: FBI


On October 3, 2025, the defendant struck a CBP helicopter with a high-powered green laser, causing it to abort its planned landing at the Hillsboro airport. The flight crew observed Kapileo Nepaial walking near a residence and then disappearing. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) identified the residence and executed a federal search warrant on October 10, 2025.

During the search of Kapileo Nepaial's home, FBI agents located a laser in the defendant's bedroom and also discovered more than 100 grams of methamphetamine, as well as evidence of drug trafficking, according to an FBI affidavit.


Screenshot from the CBP video of the helicopter being struck by a green laser beam. Courtesy: FBI
 

FBI agents located a laser and illicit drugs during the execution of a search warrant. Courtesy: FBI

Kapileo Nepaial admitted to striking the CBP helicopter with a laser to FBI agents following his arrest, court documents state. The incident followed a series of laser attacks targeting helicopters in response to President Trump's crackdown on anti-ICE rioters at the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Portland, Oregon.

Helicopters circled above the ICE facility as an act of deterrence, as Antifa-aligned agitators laid siege to the federal building for several consecutive months, committing a variety of serious crimes, such as arson attacks, assault on federal police officers with deadly weapons, and impeding immigration enforcement.

As a result, demonstrators organized to attack helicopters with lasers, including those involved with Antifa groups, a designated terrorist organization. Emergency medical flights had to be diverted.

Days prior to Kapileo Nepaial's attack, another high-powered laser incident targeting a CBP helicopter occurred, resulting in the FBI, HSI, and FPS raiding a Portland home on September 29, 2025. Agents made contact with the primary subject and determined he was an illegal immigrant. Federal authorities located three additional occupants residing in the home and discovered that they were also illegally present in the US. All of them were taken into ICE custody.

Kapileo Nepaial has several previous felony convictions and charges in Oregon dating back to 2008, all of which are illicit drug-related. He will be sentenced on July 28 at the Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse.