JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Under the cover of darkness on the last day of July, three unidentified men climbed the Alaska Capitol and cut down the American and Alaska flags.
The flag thieves were caught on security cameras as they broke into a Capitol construction area around 1 a.m. that day.
They climbed scaffolding in an area where crews are renovating and retrofitting the exterior of the historic building, according to an email sent to legislative staffers Monday by Steve Daigle, chief of security for the Legislative Affairs Agency. Then they destroyed the rigging and stole the flags.
Daigle attached two security videos and two still shots of the three men.
Video shows them walking down the street, breaking through a chain-link fence around the construction and later leaving at the same location.
Juneau Assemblyman Jesse Kiehl, who works as a legislative aide for Sen. Dennis Egan, a Juneau Democrat, shared the information and photographs on the Juneau Community Concern Facebook page.
“It’s just the wrong thing to do,” Kiehl told the Empire by phone. “I hope somebody recognizes those guys.”
Juneau police are investigating vandalism and theft in the incident, said spokeswoman Erann Kalwara.
Daigle said by phone that he isn’t allowed to talk to the media and couldn’t share any addition information.
After hearing about the incident, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s office decided to send a U.S. flag to Gov. Bill Walker as a replacement, Murkowski spokesman Matthew Felling said Tuesday.
