WASHINGTON (AP) – Facing a federal judge after pleading guilty to felony charges in the Capitol riots, former West Virginia lawmaker Derrick Evans expressed grief for letting his family and community down, saying he made a “significant mistake.”
Less than a year later, Evans described himself as the victim of a politically motivated prosecution when he walked to serve in the same building he attacked on January 6, 2021. justice” and described himself on twitter as “J6 Patriot.”
“Some ppl say I need to apologize and condemn #J6 if I want to win the election because the media will attack me,” he tweeted recently after announcing his bid for a US House seat in 2024. “I will not compromise my values. or beliefs. This that’s what politicians do.We need Patriots not politicians.
Evans joined the series Jan. 6. defendants who – while fighting prison time in court – have expressed remorse for joining the pro-Trump mob that shook the foundations of American democracy only to strike a different tone or downplay the riots after receiving it. penalty.
The first defendant to be sentenced on January 6 apologized in court and then went on the Fox News Channel shortly after and appeared to play down the unrest. Another defendant called January 6 “terrible and disgusting” later wearing an orange jumpsuit to play the part of a distraught prisoner in a strange tribute to prison Capitol rioters during a conservative conference.
Some defendants have drawn ire from judges or the Justice Department for inconsistent comments. But there isn’t much the legal system can do for a defendant on trial. And since some conservatives hold up the January 6 defendants as martyrs, there is a political and possibly financial incentive to change their tune.
This could encourage judges to impose stronger punishments on rioters who have not been convicted in criminal cases. Even before Evans’ sentence, the judge hearing the case began to question the sincerity of the mobster’s apology after he felt he had been duped by another defendant, saying he was “all too familiar with the cry of the crocodile.”
In some cases, judges ask whether they should revoke defendants’ convictions or deals after they make statements in public that appear to contradict what they said in court. On Friday, US District Judge Amit Mehta ordered the Illinois man convicted this week to explain why the judge should not vacate the conviction after he admitted in court that he participated in the riots and later told a newspaper that he did not think he did. the crime charged.
Before he was sentenced last June for three months behind bars for charges of civil disorder, Evans said he regretted his actions every day and told Senior Judge Royce Lamberth that he was “a good man who unfortunately got caught up in the moment.”
Shortly after, the prosecutor wrote to the judge about some of the statements Evans made on the radio show and that they were “inconsistent with the contrition” he showed in the sentence. When asked if he regretted his actions, Evans told the show that he regretted the “situation” he was put in.
Evans said in a statement sent to The Associated Press that he still stands behind what he said in court.
“This is my message to the judge. This is my message to the media. It is time to tell what happened to me personally that day,” he said.
Evans said she lost “almost everything” — including her job as a state delegate and time with her children — because of the Jan. 6 decision. “How can I not regret it?” he asked. But he said he was “completely portrayed as a villain” when he wasn’t, because he never overpowered an officer and was in the Capitol for just 10 minutes.
When determining an appropriate sentence, judges generally assume that defendants have taken responsibility for their actions and appear remorseful. In some cases January 6, the judge has faulted the defendant for not appearing to show true remorse even before the sentence has been handed down.
Attorney Trennis Evans III, who was drinking whiskey in a congressional conference room during the commotion, told the judge in court papers that Evans was “sincerely remorseful, and sad.” But after Evans suggested in the November sentence that January 6 defendants were treated unfairly – even though he said he condemned what happened that day – the judge said he did not believe he showed “full and genuine remorse.”
A month after being ordered to serve 20 days in jail, the Texan traveled to South Dakota to urge state lawmakers to support a resolution encouraging “humane and fair treatment” on January 6 of the accused. The resolution failed by a unanimous vote.
The first defendant on January 6 to ask for her sentence, Anna Morgan-Lloyd, told Lamberth that she was ashamed of the “savage display of violence” in the Capitol before sentencing her to probation. Shortly after, however, an Indiana woman told Fox News host Laura Ingraham that people were “very polite” during the riots and that she saw “relaxed” police officers talking to the rioters.
Lamberth did not seem to forget this. The judge wrote in court papers that he hoped for a “change of heart” from the other defendants since his hopes were “broken” in his case. In another case, he wrote that he “often finds it difficult to understand the sincerity” of the defendants’ remorse on January 6.
“Many defendants appear sincere at sentencing, boasting of shame, remorse, and a desire to change and become law-abiding citizens,” Lamberth wrote. “But this Court is well aware of the crocodile’s cry.”
Morgan-Lloyd’s attorney said he believed his client was genuinely sad, “played” by Ingraham and sent the judge a letter after the TV interview. When contacted by The Associated Press, Morgan-Lloyd’s attorney said the woman would not comment.
After he avoided jail time in the January 6 case, right-wing activist Brandon Straka donned an orange jumpsuit and red MAGA cap, sat in a fake jail cell and gracefully wept for a procession of participants at the last Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas. August. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, entered the cage and hugged Straka before appearing to pray together.
A month earlier, with the possibility of a prison sentence hanging over his head, Straka referred to January 6 as “nothing more than a shameful day that has no positive attributes whatsoever.”
“I am sorry that I participated in any event that caused fear, that caused shame and embarrassment in our country, and that served no other purpose than to remove the divisions that have hurt this country,” he wrote in a letter to the US District Judge Dabney Friedrich, who sentenced him to 36 months of probation.
An email seeking comment was sent to Straka, of Nebraska. He said the CPAC performance was intended “to provoke a reaction about political division, human rights violations and so on” and accused critics of trying to “criminalize art.”
Since his sentencing, the judge asked him if he wanted to withdraw his guilty plea and said he could face prosecution for making a false statement because public comments he made appeared to contradict things he said in court.
Straka’s approved offense statement is true under his plea deal saying he yelled “Get it! Get it!” while filming another man trying to take the police shield. Straka later told Fox News host Tucker Carlson that he told his attorney that he never made those comments. He suggested he confess because he was under pressure to make a deal.
Richer reported from Boston. Associated Press reporter Colleen Long contributed from Washington.