REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
- Derrick Evans, a newly-elected lawmaker from West Virginia, filmed himself storming the US Capitol Wednesday, posting the live video on Facebook and later deleting it.
- Evans, a West Virginia state delegate, chanted “Trump! Trump! Trump!” and forced himself through the doors of the Capitol wearing a motorcycle helmet.
- “We’re in! We’re in! Derrick Evans is in the Capitol!” he cheered as he pushed into the halls of the building.
- Hours after the events, he posted on Facebook that he was on a bus back to West Virginia and was only at the Capitol as an “independent member of the media to film history.”
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
A West Virginia Republican lawmaker live-streamed a Facebook video of himself and other rioters storming the US Capitol Wednesday.
Derrick Evans, a newly elected member of West Virginia’s house of delegates, later deleted the video from his page, but evidence of it remains online through screenshots and screen-recordings.
In a five-minute clip of the video posted on Reddit, Evans chanted “Trump! Trump! Trump!” as the crowd forced open the doors to the Capitol. He flipped the camera round to show himself wearing a black motorcycle helmet.
“Keep it moving baby,” Evans said, who complained he couldn’t see out of his right eye because of pepper spray.
Once the doors opened, the pro-Trump mob pushed past police officers and Evans can be heard cheering: “We’re in! We’re in! Derrick Evans is in the Capitol!”
The video showed Evans walking around the halls of the Capitol shouting "We're in baby!" and "Freedom!"
Four people died in the siege - one shot by police, three from medical emergencies.
Evans approached a police officer, fist-bumping him and saying: "God bless you sir. Nothing personal all right. We still respect you all right. Nothing personal against you."
Towards the end of the video, Evans warned other rioters not to destroy the property. "No destruction of anything. No vandalizing property. This is artefact," he said.
—Brad McElhinny (@BradMcElhinny) January 6, 2021
The clip finishes with Evans chanting ""Our house!" and then "I don't know where we're going, but I'm following the crowd."
Hours after he posted and deleted the video, Evans posted on his Facebook page that he was on a bus headed back to West Virginia. He claimed that he went to the Capitol as an "independent member of the media to film history."
"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's live-streaming kicked off at 7 a.m. on Wednesday, showing himself and other Trump supporters gathering by the Washington Monument before making their way to the Capitol.
"Live in D.C., baby!" Evans said in the video. "Three hours before Trump speaks this place is crazy already … It's unreal, guys. I can't even explain it ... I can tell you right now... The patriots are fired up, man."
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Evans wrote "I can't wait for tomorrow" with the hashtag #StoptheSteal.
The following day, he posted a photo of Trump supporters on a bus headed to Washington with the caption "Two bus loads of Patriots from WV, KY, and Ohio are loaded up and heading to DC."
Roger Hanshaw, the Speaker of the West Virginia House of Delegates, told WV Metro News that "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."
He said he hasn't spoken to Evans about the incident and that he doesn't know how Evans was specifically involved, apart from what was posted on social media.
"He will need to answer to his constituents and colleagues regarding his involvement in what has occurred today," Hanshaw said.
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