Homer couple whose home was searched by FBI says it was a case of mistaken identity

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - More than 4,000 miles from Washington, D.C., and nearly four months after the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, the search for wrongdoers from that day brought the FBI to Homer, Alaska, a coastal town at the southern end of the Kenai Peninsula.

Marilyn and Paul Hueper, owners of the Homer Inn and Spa, told Alaska’s News Source that agents broke through their door early Wednesday morning with guns drawn, handcuffed the couple and two guests, and started searching the premises.

“They basically took me out of the handcuffs and said something like, ‘So you probably know why we’re here.’ I was like, ‘no, probably not.’” Marilyn Hueper said Friday. “And they said, ‘well, we’re looking for Nancy Pelosi’s laptop and we know you were in the building and you were in the room at the time.’”

The FBI isn’t saying much about what they know about the search.

“I can confirm that, on April 28, the FBI was conducting court authorized law enforcement activity at the location you are referring to. At this time, and until it reaches the public realm, we can’t discuss the details,” Chloe Martin, Public Affairs Officer for the Alaska Field office of the FBI, told Alaska’s News Source via email Friday.

The Huepers’ name does not come up in a search of online court records for the U.S. District of Alaska.

The couple declined to provide a copy of the search warrant the FBI had, but said it permitted agents to search for items stolen from the Capitol.

Agents seized cell phones, laptops and a copy of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, the Huepers said.

“We never got within 100 yards of the main doors of the Capitol,” Paul Hueper said.

The couple said they support the FBI’s efforts to find people who breached the Capitol and who may have committed crimes. But in their opinion, the evidence is clear they are not among that group.

A photo provided to Marilyn Hueper by the FBI of a woman they say was inside the capitol that day resembles Hueper in appearance, with similarly styled hair and a similar black coat. But a close look, Hueper said, shows they are clearly different people.

Paul and Marilyn Hueper say the FBI searched their home in Homer, Alaska on April 28, 2021 in... — Paul and Marilyn Hueper say the FBI searched their home in Homer, Alaska on April 28, 2021 in relation to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. This photo compilation shows Marilyn Hueper (left) and an unidentified woman who was also at the Capitol on the same day, whose photo the FBI has published.(Image courtesy Paul and Marilyn Hueper)

The couple said the search took a total of about four hours.

They said they stayed calm during their contact with the FBI, relying on their personal confidence they’d done nothing wrong.

“I can honestly say my conscience is clear,” Paul Hueper said.

Marilyn Hueper said the experience is a good reminder to be informed, engaged citizens.

“We’re supposed to be the ones watching them and now they’re the ones watching us because we weren’t watching them,” she said. “So we need to get involved so we can get the balance back.”