Photos Provided At left, incoming Delegate Derrick Evans, R-Wayne, is sworn in Dec. 1. At right, Evans is shown on a video he took with his phone, preparing to enter the U.S. Capitol Building on Wednesday.

CHARLESTON — An incoming member of the West Virginia House of Delegates has come under scrutiny for his involvement in a mob that broke into the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday to stop the certification of former Vice President Joe Biden as President-elect.

Derrick Evans, who won election as a Republican in November to the 19th District representing Wayne County, was part of a mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol in Washington as Congress met to certify Electoral College votes by the states.

A video originally posted to Evans’ Facebook page and deleted shows Evans and dozens of violent protesters yelling “Whose house? Our House” and “Trump” breaking into the Capitol through a doorway. At one point, Evans turns the phone around to show himself before the mob begins going through the door. The deleted video was posted on Reddit.

Once inside, Evans fist-bumped a Capitol Police officer, telling the officer no one will get hurt and they still respect police officers, before entering the rotunda of the Capitol.

“No vandalizing, these are artifacts,” Evans said while walking around the Rotunda historic paintings depicting scenes from the founding of the United States.

Evans was part of a group of West Virginians who traveled to Washington by bus for the “Stop The Steal” rally, featuring Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani. It’s unclear if other West Virginians also broke into the Capitol.

In a statement posted Wednesday on a Facebook Page called “Derrick Evans – The Activist,” Evans claimed he was acting as a member of the media when following the mob into the Capitol.

“I want to assure you all that I did not have any negative interactions with law enforcement, nor did I participate in any destruction that may have occurred,” Evans said. “I was simply there as an independent member of the media to film history.”

Evans works as a real estate investor and property manager and previously worked in Wayne County as a teacher. He was one of two new delegates to win seats in the House of Delegates from the 19th District in Wayne County.

The FBI announced Thursday they are seeking to identify individuals who either instigated violence in Washington on Wednesday or participated and is accepting tips, videos and photos showing rioting at the Capitol.

“Our criminal prosecutors have been working throughout the night with special agents and investigators from the U.S. Capitol Police, FBI, ATF, Metropolitan Police Department and the public to gather the evidence, identify perpetrators, and charge federal crimes where warranted,” said Acting U.S. Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen on Thursday. “Some participants in yesterday’s violence will be charged today, and we will continue to methodically assess evidence, charge crimes and make arrests in the coming days and weeks to ensure that those responsible are held accountable under the law.”

West Virginia’s two U.S. attorneys also announced they were reviewing Wednesday’s breach of the Capitol and considering charges against any West Virginians who may have been involved.

“Anytime anyone violates federal law, he or she is subject to prosecution. This includes the actions seen yesterday at the U.S. Capitol Building,” said Bill Powell, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia. “If we determine jurisdiction and evidence warrants prosecution in the Northern District of West Virginia, I will not hesitate to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law.”

“The violence at the nation’s Capitol Building was reprehensible and counter to every value we share as Americans,” said Mike Stuart, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia and the state chairman of the Trump campaign in 2016. “My team is working with our counterparts in law enforcement and, as the facts dictate, are prepared to enforce the Rule of Law and the laws of these United States.”

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said Thursday he wants Evans and any West Virginians who were involved with breaching the Capitol to face criminal charges.

“I have been made aware that West Virginians were among the crowd that illegally entered the U.S. Capitol yesterday,” Manchin said. “Let me be clear. The seditious acts we witnessed in the hallowed halls of Congress yesterday were criminal and un-American. I am going to do everything in my power to ensure anyone who entered the Capitol illegally will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

An effort is underway to force Evans to resign or be removed from office. A petition on Change.org calling on his removal already was well on its way to reaching 35,000 signatures as of Thursday afternoon.

The minority leaders of both the House of Delegates and Senate also called for Evans to be penalized for his participation in Wednesday’s mob action. They were joined in their call by Belinda Biafore and Rod Snyder, co-chairs of the West Virginia Democratic Party.

“This is unacceptable behavior and conduct unbecoming of an elected official,” said House Minority Leader Doug Skaff, D-Kanawha. “I am calling on Speaker Hanshaw to suspend Delegate Derrick Evans’ rights, privileges and access to West Virginia State Capitol Building, immediately and indefinitely, to allow for investigation into this incident.”

“All of those who participated in (Wednesday’s) attack on the Capitol, especially those who unlawfully entered the building and perpetrated acts of violence, should be prosecuted fully by the law that undergirds our democracy,” said Senate Minority Leader Stephen Baldwin, D-Greenbrier. “We understand that an incoming delegate, Derrick Evans, videoed himself participating in such acts. There is no place for him in the (West Virginia) Legislature.”

“(Evans) must be held accountable for participating in an act of insurrection against the United States government and risking the lives of lawmakers and Capitol police,” Biafore and Snyder said in a joint statement. “The West Virginia Democratic Party calls for his immediate resignation from the House of Delegates and that he be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Incoming Kanawha County state Sen. Eric Nelson, a former member of the House of Delegates, was one of the first Republican state lawmakers to publicly call for Evans to resign or be removed from office.

“As members of the West Virginia Legislature, we have an obligation to conduct ourselves in a manner that is worthy of the office we hold and a reverence for the responsibility and public trust we have been given,” Nelson said. “Delegate Evans has wholly failed in those regards…I hope Delegate Evans accepts responsibility for his actions and chooses to resign. Should he not do so, I urge the House to take disciplinary action against him, including expelling him from the body.”

Nelson was joined by Delegate Ben Queen, R-Harrison. Posting on his Facebook page, Queen said Evans should show respect for the constitutional values he claims to have by resigning.

“His actions do not reflect the West Virginia values that so many of us share and work so hard to defend,” Queen said. “We have a lot to accomplish if West Virginia is going to move in a direction for which we can all be proud of. I don’t believe that Delegate Derrick Evans can be part of that journey moving forward.”

In a statement Wednesday, House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, did not comment specifically on whether Evans would face any repercussions as an incoming delegate, but he did call Wednesday’s storming of the Capitol a crime that should be punished.

“I have not spoken to Delegate Evans about (Wednesday’s) events. I don’t know the specifics of his involvement. I have only seen what has been posted on social media so far, and I’m sure more details may come out soon,” Hanshaw said. “He will need to answer to his constituents and colleagues regarding his involvement in what has occurred today.

“While free speech and peaceful protests are a core value of American society, 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,” Hanshaw said. “What occurred today is unpatriotic, un-American and I condemn it in the strongest terms possible.”