The FBI, along with a number of lesser law enforcement agencies, are still very much in the thick of it as it pertains to the investigation surrounding the events of January 6th. They’ve made hundreds of arrests thus far, and there are still potentially hundreds more to come.
Those who’ve been arrested thus far have faced a number of disparate outcomes, with some still in the midst of adjudication while others continue to face harsher sentences than prosecutors intended, thanks to overzealous judges.
One suspect, however, has jetted off to Europe for a chance to escape what he’s calling “political persecution”.
Evan Neumann, 48, was charged in July on six separate criminal charges, including violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, as well as for assaulting, resisting and obstructing law enforcement at the Capitol insurrection on January 6.
Shortly after the charges were filed, Neumann sold his house in California‘s Bay Area for $1.3 million and fled. He is listed by the FBI as a ‘defendant at large’.
What happened next?
He has now emerged in Belarus, where Alexander Lukashenko – infamous for imprisoning his political rivals and for coming under fire during violent crackdowns following his highly disputed election victory in August 2020 – has been in power for 26 years.
In a sit-down interview titled ‘Goodbye, America’ released on Sunday, he told Belarus 1 that he is facing six criminal charges back in the United States.
Neumann said: ‘I do not believe that I have committed any crime. One of the charges was very offensive.
‘It is alleged that I hit a police officer. There is no reason for this.
‘This is terrible… This is political persecution. And this is a level with which I cannot do anything.’
Neumann is perhaps the first insurrection suspect to attempt such a bold maneuver, and, as of this writing, there is no clear indication of how Belarus may respond to his request for asylum.
