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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.