Evan Neumann, who participated in the January 6 protests at the Capitol building, has been granted political asylum in Belarus after fleeing the United States fearing he would be jailed for an indeterminate amount of time in a questionable facility in his home country.
Photos released by the Belarus state TV channel Belta show Neumann being presented with documents confirming his refugee status in the country.
“Now you are completely under the protection of the Republic of Belarus,” an immigration official told Neumann as he was handed the documents.
“I feel safe in Belarus. It’s calm, I like it in this country,” Neumann said. “Today I am experiencing mixed feelings. I’m glad that Belarus has taken care of me. I’m upset that I wound up in this situation, that in my native country there were such problems.”
Evan Neumann, a US citizen who took part in the storming of the Capitol in January 2021, was granted asylum in Belarus today. He fled the US last August after six criminal charges were allegedly brought against him. pic.twitter.com/BQ1cx4fSef
— Tadeusz Giczan 🇺🇦 (@TadeuszGiczan) March 22, 2022
He confirmed that he planned to stay in Brest after having “started a life” in the country, and added that he planned to move his family over, but the decision would ultimately be up to his wife. Yuryy Brazinski, the head of the Brest police migration directorate, confirmed that Neumann will eventually be allowed to apply for Belarusian citizenship.
Neumann fled to Belarus in August last year after being charged with six felonies relating to the protest at the Capitol on January 6 last year.
He had initially traveled to other countries, including Switzerland and Italy, but became concerned after moving to Ukraine when he was followed by the Ukrainian security services in the country.
“It’s a very scary thing. That’s not a criminal investigation, that’s a political action,” Neumann said in November, when speaking to Belarusian state TV.
He claimed that the American justice system was wearing down many of the Capitol protesters.
“After some time of this, we lose the will to fight, and we’ll confess to anything,” said Neumann. “I know that there’s no hope if I go through the American justice system right now. I’m not strong enough to withstand torture.”
Neumann further slammed the response to Black Lives Matter riots in comparison to what he and other Capitol protesters experienced, calling it a “crazy inversion of law” that he and others were charged, while BLM rioters and antifa instigators have remained free.
Protesters entered the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, while 45th President Donald Trump was delivering a speech urging Republicans and former Vice President Mike Pence to aid him in contesting the 2020 election results.
Ultimately, police shot and killed one protester, and a police officer sustained injuries that later resulted in his death.
The event has been compared to the terrorist attacks on September 11, and many of the protesters arrested due to their alleged actions that day remain in jail awaiting trial.
