VIDEO: W.Va. Delegate live-streamed storming U.S. Capitol building, deletes moments later
W.Va. Republican State Delegate Derrick Evans stormed the United States Capitol in now deleted live-stream video, claims to be member of media.
Rioters struggle to take control of a police barricade Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Jan. 6, 2021 • Written by Kyle Vass; Edited by Lacey Johnson
A video obtained by Dragline shows W.Va. Republican State Delegate Derrick Evans was part of the crowd that broke through police barricades and forced its way into the United States Capitol. Evans live-streamed the video to his social media account before deleting it moments later.
In the video, Evans can be heard saying, “There’s cops on the inside stopping us now,” as he and other rioters cry out, “Push!” Moments later, Evans exclaims, “The door’s cracked now!” before rushing into what appears to be the Capitol Rotunda.
This event occurs just seven days after a restraining order for stalking that was taken out against Evans expired. Evans was elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates in November 2020, later took to another social media account to express that he was in D.C. “simply [in D.C.] as an independent member of the media to film history.”
Shelly Moore Capito, a Republican U.S. Senator for W.Va., took to social media a few hours after Evans deleted his video, saying of the riots: “This is the United States of America. This needs to stop right now. We don’t do this. It’s not who we are.”
If the riots in D.C. are determined to be an act of insurrection, Evans could face prison time and lose his ability to hold office per Chapter 115 of the U.S. Code (§2383) which states, “Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.”
The Speaker of the House for the West Virginia House of Delegates has issued the following statement regarding Evans and today’s events, saying that “storming government buildings and participating in a violent intentional disruption of one of our nation’s most fundamental political institutions is a crime that should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
Evans didn’t respond to multiple requests made for an interview for this story.