Derrick Evans, a former West Virginia state legislator who live-streamed himself participating in the Capitol riot, has been sentenced to three months in prison after pleading guilty to a felony offense of civil disorder.
Three months is what prosecutors sought. At the Capitol last year, Evans helped lead the crowd on the east side of the Capitol, where he shouted out messages to fellow mob members about what was unfolding on the building’s west side. After the riot, Evans deleted his live-stream video from Facebook, but that wasn’t quick enough for the footage to somehow disappear. Portions of it were later used by prosecutors in building their case against Evans, who narrated on video as nearby portions of the riot crowd made their way into the Capitol. “We’re taking this house, I told you today! Patriots stand up!.. My people didn’t vote for me because I was a coward,” Evans said. “We’re in! Derrick Evans is in the Capitol!” he added on video. It remains remarkable how many of these people openly and explicitly documented themselves committing crimes.
Once in D.C. ahead of the violence, Evans — unlike other participants in the attack on the Capitol — went to the east side of the Capitol for several hours instead of joining up with those at the nearby rally where Trump spoke. Evans never actually participated in a legislative session in West Virginia; after his arrest in connection to the Capitol riot, he resigned from his legislative position. The arrest and resignation both came within a week of the riot. Evans apparently hasn’t been placed into pretrial detention at any point since his initial arrest, meaning he’ll be serving the entirety of the 90-day sentence, with no credit for time served — since he hasn’t served any. Evans said he took responsibility but also blamed the crowd. “I’m a good person, who was unfortunately caught up in a moment which led to me breaking the law. I accept full responsibility for my actions,” he said to federal Judge Royce Lamberth, who handled his sentencing.
Evans, though, has a history: he “also live-streamed his protests outside of West Virginia’s only abortion clinic, leading the clinic to build a 10-foot fence around the building and a clinic volunteer to obtain a restraining order against him,” The Washington Post notes.
“When you look at the tapes, you were egging people on and you were encouraging,” Lamberth observed, discussing Evans’s Capitol riot participation. “It’s not like you walked through the building… I have to send a message. I don’t want another riot after the next election.” Evans hadn’t reported to prison yet as of this Thursday. Evans “tells me he expects to be reporting to federal prison in the coming days or weeks in his US Capitol breach case,” Scott MacFarlane of CBS News reported Thursday. The first sentencing for one of the small but growing number of Capitol riot defendants who have been convicted at trial has yet to take place, but it will soon. Texas man Guy Reffitt, convicted by a jury of all the charges he was facing, is slated to be sentenced August 1. Once that sentencing takes place, the extent of the difference between sentences for those who pleaded guilty and those who went to trial will be clear. The reasonable expectation would be there’s going to be a significant amount of jail-time handed down for Reffitt.
Former West Virginia state delegate Derrick Evans tells me he expects to be reporting to federal prison in the coming days or weeks in his US Capitol breach case
He's been sentenced to three months, after pleading guilty to civil disorder pic.twitter.com/cvbX4D9fON
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) July 7, 2022
Image: Tyler Merbler, available under Creative Commons
Former West Virginia state delegate Derrick Evans tells me he expects to be reporting to federal prison in the coming days or weeks in his US Capitol breach case
He's been sentenced to three months, after pleading guilty to civil disorder pic.twitter.com/cvbX4D9fON
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) July 7, 2022
