Jun 22, 2022 - Politics & Policy

Ex-West Virginia lawmaker who filmed himself at Capitol riot jailed

TuAnh Dam

Photo: Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images

The ex-West Virginia legislator who filmed himself storming the U.S. Capitol during the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced to three months in prison on Wednesday.

The big picture: Derrick Evans is one of more than 800 people charged in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection, and among over 300 to have pleaded guilty. Hundreds more cases are still to come.

Flashback: Evans recorded himself breaching the Capitol with a mob of Trump supporters. He filmed himself saying, "We’re in, we’re in! Derrick Evans is in the Capitol!" according to charging documents.

Evans resigned from the state's House of Delegates shortly after the riot in January 2021, and then pleaded guilty last March.
The Department of Justice recommended a three-month sentence for Evans, according to court documents.

What they're saying: Judge Royce C. Lamberth said that he felt incarceration was necessary for Evans and was initially inclined to give the former legislator six months, NBC News reports.

"I can't just give you probation in a case like this," Lamberth said, per CNN.
"I have to send a message. I don't want another riot at the next election ... so I'm going to do what I can as a judge."
But the judge added he thought Evans could "live a good life again" after prison.

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Ex-West Virginia lawmaker who filmed himself at Capitol riot jailed

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