WV Republican delegate makes national news “storming” the U.S. Capitol
Wheeling-area readers may have missed it -- the story was not in this morning’s Wheeling Intelligencer
Some headlines from this morning’s national newspapers
From The Washington Post:
GOP West Virginia state delegate live-streams as he storms Congress with pro-Trump mob: ‘We’re going in!’
It begins:
Sporting a black helmet and shouting, “Trump! “Trump!,” a West Virginia state delegate pushed his way through the crowd as he narrated on Facebook Live the moment the mob cracked open the doors of Congress.
“We’re going in! We’re going in!” Republican Derrick Evans yelled in the video.
Seconds later, Evans, a newly elected member of West Virginia’s House of Delegates, pushed his way inside past police officers. “We’re in! We’re in!” he cheered. “Derrick Evans is in the Capitol!”
See also The New York Times:
West Virginia Lawmaker Among Those Who Stormed U.S. Capitol
And the Associated Press:
West Virginia delegate records himself storming U.S. Capitol
(Additionally, the Charleston Gazette-Mail included Evans in its coverage of the event.)
Finally, here’s part of the Evans video from WV Metro News’ Brad McElhinny:
A cell phone recording of a portion of now-deleted video. “We’re in! We’re in! Derrick Evans is in the Capitol!” https://t.co/IKQzeLoVFf pic.twitter.com/pacZiVN0Cp
— Brad McElhinny (@BradMcElhinny) January 6, 2021
Evans’ defense
From the Post article:
He claimed that he traveled to the Capitol to film the events as an “independent member of the media.”
“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 in the statement. “I was simply there as an independent member of the media to film history.”
Some Reaction
Republican Roger Hanshaw, the WV House of Delegates Speaker, said this yesterday:
“I have not spoken to Delegate Evans about today’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. He will need to answer to his constituents and colleagues regarding his involvement in what has occurred today.
And from Democrat William Ihlenfeld, local state senator and former federal prosecutor:
Delegate Evans committed multiple federal crimes & documented it all on social media. Hopefully, charges will be forthcoming from Charleston's U.S. Attorney, who has jurisdiction due to the Delegate's travel from West Virginia to DC with the intent to engage in unlawful activity. https://t.co/KK9Rx5Fx38
— William Ihlenfeld II (@IhlenfeldWV) January 7, 2021
This story is just getting started.
