A Chittenden County man was arrested after a source turned over notes to law enforcement that “suggested” a threat to vaccine distribution in Vermont, according to court records.
Aaron Loucks, 27, had been scheduled for a video hearing Tuesday in federal court in Burlington on a charge of possession of a firearm while using drugs. The hearing was reset for Thursday after Loucks said he wanted to appear in person. He’s being held at the Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield.
News that Loucks was in custody on the federal charge was first reported by the Times Argus.
Notes reportedly belonging to Loucks and information that a source provided to law enforcement indicated Loucks believes the Covid-19 vaccination effort is part of a government conspiracy to control the population.
A handwritten note listed Vermont National Guard facilities located across the state, as well as other possible vaccine distribution sites.
“Loucks has a history of substance abuse complicated by a complex mental health profile,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugenia Cowles wrote in a filing Tuesday supporting his continued detention.
“His recent behavior — smashing the windows of a Church Street business, writing notes regarding plans to interfere with the distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine, and repeatedly obtaining firearms — suggest he is in a current downward spiral,” the filing stated.
As a result, he is unlikely to comply with court orders if released, and he poses a danger to the community, the prosecutor wrote.
The court may also want to consider ordering an evaluation to determine whether Loucks is competent to take part in his own defense, Cowles said.
Court records list the federal public defender’s office as representing Loucks. Reached Tuesday afternoon, Michael Desautels, a defense lawyer who heads that office, declined comment.
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives led the investigation, which involved several other agencies, including the Burlington, Shelburne and South Burlington police departments and the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Vermont Public Safety Commissioner Michael Schirling, speaking Tuesday at Gov. Phil Scott’s twice-weekly briefing on the state’s response to Covid-19, said he had been tracking the case.
“We don’t generally discuss threat posture and inbound intelligence,” Schirling said. “This is not a widespread, repetitive-type of thing that we’re seeing happen.”
ATF Special Agent Eric Brimo wrote in an affidavit that he was contacted by the Burlington Police Department about several items that had been turned in. The items included ammunition, body armor, a helmet and several notes with “concerning” messages about the distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine, he wrote.
Those items had been in Loucks’ possession, Brimo wrote, and were given to Burlington police by a “source familiar with Loucks” who was concerned about public safety.
According to the ATF agent’s filing, the notes suggested threats to the distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine.
“The information provided by the source also advised that Loucks is under the belief that the government and the ‘deep state’ are after him,” the affidavit stated, “and he made mention that he believes the COVID-19 screening precautions are a part of the government conspiracy to gain control over the population.”
One of the notes listed locations of hospitals, pharmacies and prisons, while another referred to “Vaccine Deceivers.”
Loucks had several contacts with law enforcement in Chittenden County over the past year, according to the affidavit. Those contacts included an incident Dec. 10 when Burlington police got several 911 calls about a person breaking windows with a hammer at the Fjällräven clothing store on Church Street.
Witnesses reported hearing a man saying, “Take your [expletive] back to Denmark.” The store sells Swedish-designed clothing and gear.
Through surveillance footage, police said they were able to identify Loucks as the person who had smashed the windows, and he was charged with simple assault, hate-motivated unlawful mischief and aggravated disorderly conduct.
Then, on Dec. 14, Burlington police received information from a “source familiar with Loucks” that he has “struggled with psychological and drug addiction issue” and had recently purchased two firearms, telling others he would use them defend himself if anyone ‘comes for him.’”
Two days later, on Dec. 16, Chittenden County law enforcement agencies went to a residence in Shelburne after a state “Warrant for Emergency Examination” was filed for Loucks, based on information provided by a source. That warrant, Brimo wrote, indicated Loucks had used LSD within the prior two weeks.
Police said they learned that Loucks was on his way to the source’s residence, and when he pulled up in a vehicle, officers were already there. They asked him if he had any firearms, and he replied that he did.
Loucks was then detained on an emergency examination warrant and the firearm, a Taurus semiautomatic pistol, was recovered from the vehicle, Brimo wrote in his filing. The firearm was not loaded, the affidavit stated, and it was located in a box with two loaded magazines.
Records later revealed that Loucks had bought the firearm three days earlier at M&R Guns and Ammo in Highgate, Brimo’s affidavit stated.
Documents also stated he had purchased a “Colt Model M4 Carbine, 5.56 caliber AR-style rifle” on Nov. 30 from Powderhorn Outdoor Sports in Williston.
