MU grad foiled by Facebook friends and turquoise cap in Capitol insurrection case
Nick Reimler’s Facebook friends and turquoise cap gave him away.
Ten days after the U.S. Capitol insurrection, the University of Missouri engineering graduate was turned in by a Facebook friend who reported him to an FBI tip line, charging documents unsealed Thursday show. And another Facebook friend provided agents with screen shots of Reimler’s posts about his plans to attend the pro-Trump rally on Jan. 6 in Washington, D.C.
Nicholas Burton Reimler, 28 — identified as Photograph #39 on a document of suspects widely distributed by the FBI — was charged last month with violent entry and entering a restricted building or grounds the day of the riot. Both charges are misdemeanors and together carry a maximum sentence of 18 months and $110,000 in fines.
Reimler, of Cedar Hill in Jefferson County, was released on his own recognizance pending his next court appearance. He is among the nine Missouri residents who have been charged in the Capitol invasion case. Reimler is a former employee of the Missouri Department of Transportation.
Ethan Corlija, a St. Louis attorney representing Reimler, said his client is “a fine young man” whose charges are less serious than many of the hundreds who have been arrested.
“He’s charged with being in the building, walking around, taking videos, but none of that corresponds to him being responsible for harming anybody, hurting anybody, breaking any property, damaging property, stealing property, assaulting, intimidating, threatening, none of that,” Corlija told The Star on Friday.
The charging document says still images show a man dressed in a turquoise cap, blue-and-white jacket and wearing a white “TRUMP” flag as a cape entering the Capitol building along with other rioters.
“In addition to the still images, the United States Capitol Police (USCP) identified video of Reimler entering the Capitol, moving through the hallways to his presence in an area of the Capitol known as the ‘Crypt,’ and then exiting the Capitol,” the document says.
The D.C. Metropolitan Police Department Tip-line received an anonymous tip on Jan. 10 that identified Reimler from social media posts, according to the document. The tipster said Reimler “was posting on Snapchat and Facebook that he was inside of the capital on Wednesday.”
On Jan. 20, the filing says, the FBI Tip-line received a tip from “Witness 1,” who said that Reimler was the person pictured in Photograph #39 of the FBI’s riot photos.
“He posted many times on social media pictures of himself inside the Capitol on Jan. 6th and posted several times about going to D.C.,” the tipster wrote. “In the pictures attached you can see him in the exact same outfit (found on his Facebook).”
A picture from Reimler’s Facebook page appeared to show him wearing the same jacket and turquoise cap he wore while on a ski trip, the document says.
The FBI interviewed “Witness 1,” who reported knowing Reimler for three to four years and said the two were Facebook friends.
“Witness 1 knows Reimler through a friend that had dated Reimler three or four years earlier,” the document says. “Witness 1 stated that it was ‘very obvious’ to Witness 1 that the FBI picture was of Reimler.”
The FBI also interviewed another of Reimler’s Facebook friends.
“Witness 2 stated Reimler had posted several conservative political posts prior to the Capitol riots and Witness 2 recalled a publicly posted Facebook conversation about Reimler attending the rally on January 6, 2021, and was able to provide screenshots of that conversation,” the filing said.
The screenshots indicate that on Dec. 30, Reimler shared a post from former President Donald Trump that said, “JANUARY SIXTH, SEE YOU IN DC!”
“You going?” someone asked.
“Maybe,” Reimler responded. “Are you?” Then later, “I’m going. Leaving Tuesday evening, coming back Thursday night.”
“Are you driving?” the friend asked.
“With 2 guys from work,” Reimler replied.
Authorities also are aware of three screenshots of Snapchat posts that appear to show the user, identified as “Busta,” in the Crypt area of the Capitol building, the filing says. Several rioters are in the shot, along with the text “TOP OF THE US CAPITOL DOME” and “Lol what’s going on,” it says.
The full account ID for “Busta” is “bustaareim,” the document says. An agent also discovered that a Twitter account with the ID @BustaaReim was registered to Nick Reimler and contained references to locations and events in Missouri.
Reimler graduated from the University of Missouri in 2014 with a degree in civil and environmental engineering, according to his Facebook page, which has recently been taken down. Records show that between 2014 and early 2018, he worked for the Missouri Department of Transportation as a materials inspector.
Reimler’s Facebook page also showed that he started working in quality control for Fred Weber Inc. in Maryland Heights in January 2018. In March 2019, it showed, he accepted a position at the company’s San Marcos Sand & Gravel location in Texas. He transferred back to the St. Louis area in August 2020 to work as a technical services manager.
Corlija, Reimler’s attorney, said his client is not associated with any extremist groups.
“He’s an engineer, he’s very well educated, he came from a very good family and he’s been taught throughout his life to respect the rule of law,” he said. “It’s not a situation where he’s affiliated with any group that may be prone to violence. He’s the polar opposite of that.”
