Ex-West Virginia legislator who stormed Capitol strikes plea deal

Ryan J. Reilly
·2 min read

WASHINGTON — A former West Virginia legislator who stormed the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot has reached a plea deal.

Derrick Evans filmed himself entering the Capitol just a few weeks after he was sworn in as a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates. Evans was charged on Jan. 7, 2021, just one day after the Capitol attack, and resigned from state government days later.

Image: West Virginia House of Delegates member Derrick Evans is given the oath of office Dec. 14, 2020 at the state Capitol in Charleston, W.Va. (Perry Bennett / West Virginia Legislature via AP)
Image: West Virginia House of Delegates member Derrick Evans is given the oath of office Dec. 14, 2020 at the state Capitol in Charleston, W.Va. (Perry Bennett / West Virginia Legislature via AP)

“Derrick Evans is in the Capitol!” Evans said as he recorded himself on a livestream, according to the FBI. "We're taking this country back whether you like it or not."

He continued: "Today's a test run. We're taking this country back."

In a filing on Thursday, a federal prosecutor wrote that the parties had struck a plea deal and asked Judge Royce C. Lamberth to set a plea agreement hearing this month.

"The parties have reached an agreement regarding pre-trial resolution of this case and need additional time to complete and submit the necessary paperwork," Kathryn E. Fifield, a Justice Department trial attorney, wrote in the filing. "Counsel for the defendant respectfully requests a date on the Court’s calendar for a change-of-plea hearing within the month of February as counsel for the defendant is in the process of retiring, but would like to handle any change-of-plea hearing."

The details of the plea agreement were not immediately available. Evans was indicted by a federal grand jury on a charge of obstruction of an official proceeding, a felony charge which opened him up to a potentially lengthy sentence in federal prison. Evans had been scheduled to make a court appearance on Friday afternoon. An attorney for Evans did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Earlier this week, the son of a New York judge who stormed the Capitol while dressed as a caveman pleaded guilty to one felony count of civil disorder.

The FBI has made more than 700 arrests in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, when supporters of former President Trump tried to stop the certification of his electoral college loss.