Former W.Va. House member with role in Jan. 6 announces run for U.S. House

WASHINGTON D.C. (WDTV) - A former member of the West Virginia House of Delegates who took part in the U.S. Capitol breach and riot on Jan. 6, 2021 has announced his run for a U.S. House seat.

Derrick Evans made the announcement on Twitter that he is campaigning for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The announcement comes exactly two years after he stormed the U.S. Capitol during the Congress’ joint session to certify the electoral college vote.

At the time, Evans was a West Virginia House of Delegates member representing Wayne County. He was sworn into the House just weeks prior to storming the Capitol.

As Evans stormed the U.S. Capitol, he livestreamed the event on Facebook. Although he later deleted the video, he could be heard yelling “Derrick Evans is in!” and telling a Capitol Police officer that the insurrection was not personal. He was also heard telling other rioters not to do any property damage on the Capitol.

In a Facebook post, Evans said he was acting as an “independent member of the media to film history.”

Derrick Evans livestreamed himself among mob storming U.S. Capitol (1/7/2021)

On Jan. 8, Evans was charged with entering a restricted public building and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. Gov. Justice called on Evans to resign, but his lawyer said in a statement he would not resign.

However, Evans announced his resignation from the House of Delegates the next day, on Jan. 9, releasing the following statement:

The past few days have certainly been a difficult time for my family, colleagues and myself, so I feel it’s best at this point to resign my seat in the House and focus on my personal situation and those I love. I take full responsibility for my actions, and deeply regret any hurt, pain or embarrassment I may have caused my family, friends, constituents and fellow West Virginians. I hope this action I take today can remove any cloud of distraction from the state Legislature, so my colleagues can get to work in earnest building a brighter future for our state. And more importantly, I hope it helps to begin the healing process, so we can all move forward and come together as ‘One Nation, Under God.’

In May 2021, Evans faced more charges, these being disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building as well as parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol Building.

Two months later, a federal grand jury indicted Evans on an obstruction of an official proceeding charge.

In March 2022, Evans took a plea deal from federal prosecutors for his role in the riot. He was sentenced to three months in prison in June.

“I will forever bear the reminder that I made a crucial mistake. I’ve let down myself, I’ve let down my community and most importantly I’ve let down my family,” Evans told the judge at his sentencing.

Evans was released from prison in October.

In Evans’ tweet, he said he was “previously held captive as a #J6 #PoliticalPrisoner. Below is the tweet with a video from Evans:

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