West Virginia Lawmakers Weigh Removing Delegate Who Stormed Capitol After He Refuses to Resign
On 1/8/21 at 11:17 AM EST
West Virginia lawmakers are calling for the removal of a House delegate who has been charged with breaking into the U.S. Capitol along with a mob of pro-Trump rioters on Wednesday.
Derrick Evans, a newly elected Republican member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, is facing federal charges after livestreaming a video in which he surged through a door in the interior of the Capitol building.
According to a deputy federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C., Evans is being charged with entering restricted area and entering the United States Capitol, West Virginia MetroNews reported.
It also caught the attention of his fellow delegates, with several of them calling for him to resign his position.
In addition, a public petition asking for his removal from office had been signed by over 54,000 people.
Howell, whose job as speak pro tempore is to fill in when Speaker Roger Hanshaw is unavailable or unable to perform his duties, told the News Tribune Friday that he had already contacted Hanshaw to tell him he thinks Evans should be removed.
Attorney John H. Bryan, who represents Evans, said in a statement Thursday that the delegate does not plan to voluntarily resign.
An Arkansas man has been charged for allegedly breaking into the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) and posing for a picture with her plundered mail, prosecutors announced Friday.
Prosecutors also said they charged a newly elected West Virginia state delegate who recorded himself breaking into the U.S. Capitol.
Richard Barnett was arrested in Little Rock, Ark., on Friday morning and charged with three counts of entering restricted grounds, violent entry and disorderly conduct at the Capitol and theft of public property, said Principal Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Kohl of the District of Columbia.
Barnett, of Gravette, Ark., was photographed sitting with his feet up on a desk in Pelosi’s office at the U.S. Capitol an image that quickly became emblematic of the chaotic storming of the complex by a pro-Trump mob.
An attorney for Derrick Evans, a Republican lawmaker in West Virginia s House of Delegates, told CBS affiliate WVNS-TV that his client committed no criminal act as he stormed the Capitol building. From Mr. Evans point of view in the crowd, it appeared that the crowd was being allowed by law enforcement into the Capitol. He was not at the front of the group. Given the sheer size of the group walking in, Evans had no choice but to enter, the attorney, John H. Bryan, said. Evans continued to film once inside. His footage showed that members of the public were already inside the Capitol by the time he entered. Evans footage shows no riotous behavior taking place at that time. Protesters can be seen calmly walking around.
West Virginia state lawmaker charged after storming US Capitol, refusing to resign
Derrick Evans facing bipartisan calls to step down
Perry Bennett/AP
West Virginia House of Delegates member Derrick Evans, left, is given the oath of office Dec. 14, 2020, in the House chamber at the state Capitol in Charleston, W.Va. Evans recorded video of himself and fellow supporters of President Donald Trump storming the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 prompting calls for his resignation and thousands of signatures on an online petition advocating his removal. (Perry Bennett/West Virginia Legislature via AP)
and last updated 2021-01-08 14:36:29-05