CHARLESTON, West Virginia, USA (AP) – A West Virginia state legislator was charged with entering a restricted area of the federal Capitol after airing live video breaking in with a crowd of supporters of President Donald Trump.
Ken Kohl, a federal prosecutor in Washington, announced the charges against state representative Derrick Evans on Friday in a conference call in which he pleaded new charges against members of the crowd that stormed into Congress on Wednesday.
His attorney, John Bryan, said he had not seen the lawsuit against Evans and was unable to comment. He didn’t say if Evans had been arrested, but WSAZ television posted a video to Twitter in which FBI agents handcuffed the lawmaker from his home.
“He’s a good man. And thank you, Mr. Trump, for inviting a riot in the White House,” a woman who identified herself as Evans’ grandmother told station reporters when her grandson was arrested.
It may interest you:
A growing number of Republicans and Democrats said they want to expel Evans from the legislature if he doesn’t step down. Bryan said Thursday night that the deputy has not committed a crime and has no plans to step down.
Lawmakers from at least seven other states traveled to Washington to support Trump and protest the number of electoral votes confirming Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election.
It was not known whether other elected officials had joined the attack on the Capitol.
In Tennessee, a bill was filed Friday requiring state authorities to investigate all residents of the state who participated in Wednesday’s riots.
Democratic State Representative London Lamar’s proposal specifies that any “seditious or treacherous act” on Capitol Hill by an elected official would be grounds for his immediate expulsion.
The proposal comes a day after Republican State Representative Terri Lynn Weaver described events in Washington as “epic” after participating in the protest. It was unclear whether Weaver entered the Capitol.