- A man who live-streamed himself inside the Capitol on Jan. 6 was sentenced to three months in prison.
- Derrick Evans, a former
West Virginia state lawmaker, pleaded guilty to one felony earlier this year.
Derrick Evans, a former West Virginia state legislator who stormed the US Capitol on
The Wednesday sentencing came after Evans pleaded guilty to one felony count of civil disorder in March. He initially faced four charges stemming from his role in the insurrection, including disorderly and disruptive conduct and violent entry. But as the government works to prosecute the more than 850 people arrested in connection with the attack, federal prosecutors have offered some rioters lesser charges in exchange for their guilty pleas.
Evans was a newly-elected member of West Virginia's house of delegates when he participated in the riot. Sworn in just weeks before the siege, Evans initially refused to step down from his government role, despite calls from his colleagues.
He was arrested and charged two days after the insurrection and ultimately resigned on January 9, 2021, saying in a formal letter that he took full responsibility for his actions and "deeply regretted" any pain or embarrassment he caused his fellow West Virginians.
During the attack, Evans live-streamed a Facebook video of himself and others as they laid siege to the Capitol, according to prosecutors. He later deleted the video from his account, but a five-minute clip of the stream was later posted on Reddit, showing Evans chanting "Trump! Trump! Trump!" as a crowd of rioters pushed open the doors of the Capitol.
For the next few minutes, Evans narrated the rioters' efforts to breach the Capitol, offering verbal updates as the crowd pushed into the building.
"We're in, we're in! Derrick EVANS is in the Capitol!" Evans said on the live-stream, according to court records. The video goes on to show Evans and others perusing the Capitol halls as he shouted "We're in baby!" and "Freedom!"
In his statement of offense, Evans acknowledged recording the video. An attorney for Evans did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Prior to traveling to Washington DC in January 2021, prosecutors said Evans posted images on social media in support of Trump, including one that read "January 6. We're Comin'!"
During a Wednesday sentencing hearing, Evans appeared virtually and told U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth that he had let down his family and regretted his actions, according to NBC News. Lamberth expressed sympathy and told Evans that he initially planned to sentence him to six months, the outlet reported.
The judge reportedly told Evans that he believed the defendant could "live a good life again" after serving his prison sentence.