Former West Virginia Lawmaker Charged in Jan. 6 Capitol Breach Announces Bid for Congress

'I have to preserve what little freedom and liberty we have left, for my children and future grandchildren.'

Protesters roam through the U.S. Capitol Rotunda after breaching the building on Jan. 6, 2021. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

On Friday, a former West Virginia lawmaker who was charged for his involvement at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, announced that he is running for Congress.

On the second anniversary of the events of Jan. 6, 2021, Derrick Evans announced his candidacy for the House of Representatives. In a video posted on social media, Evans—who live-streamed his presence in the Capitol and served jail time (pdf) for that participation—spoke of his “fellow J-6ers” and the “miscarriage of justice at the hands of our government.” He spoke of being fearful about his jail sentence and of being “scared to lose time” with his family.

“But despite that uncertainty, my resolve never waned,” he said. “I knew I still had the support from the people in West Virginia and American patriots from all across this country.”

“So with that,” Evans said, he announced he was “officially running for a seat in the United States House of Representatives.”

Activist, Delegate, Congressional Candidate

Before his arrest on Jan. 8, 2021 (pdf), Evans had already stirred controversy as a pro-life activist. In 2019, Evans live-streamed himself protesting outside of a West Virginia abortion clinic, causing the clinic to erect a 10-foot fence around the property and a volunteer to obtain a restraining order.

Evans also live-streamed himself protesting against Black Lives Matter and drag shows. Those videos were lost on Nov. 8, 2021, when Evans was terminated from all social media platforms, including Facebook. He has since created new accounts.

Derrick Evans while serving in the West Virginia House of Delegates in 2020. Courtesy of Derrick Evans

Evans was elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates, representing the state’s 19th District, in November 2020. According to his campaign website bio, one of his first acts as a delegate was to sign on to a request for a special session aimed at stripping West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice of his executive power to impose state lockdowns and to force citizens to get COVID-19 vaccines.

After entering the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Evans was initially charged with two misdemeanors. He was there for 10 minutes and never moved beyond the Rotunda. However, the government added charges (pdf), including a felony charge of attempting to obstruct the performance of a federally protected function (pdf), which would add 20 years to his sentence. Having already exhausted his finances, Evans took a plea deal (pdf).

The day after his Jan. 8, 2021, arrest, Evans resigned from the House of Delegates (pdf).

Rep. Carol Miller

In his video announcement, Evans targeted Republican Rep. Carol Miller, who represents West Virginia’s 1st Congressional District. Miller represented the now-obsolete 3rd District from 2019 to 2023 before the state’s congressional map was redrawn.

Rep. Carol Miller (R-W.Va.) speaks during a House Select Committee on Climate Crisis hearing in Washington on June 14, 2022. Nathan Howard/Getty Images

Evans accused Miller of representing “the values of the globalist uniparty” and claimed that she voted to pass the Biden administration’s $1.7 trillion omnibus bill, but Miller voted against the bill.

Katherine Robbins, communications director for Miller, told The Epoch Times by email that Miller “has been honored to serve in Congress these past 4 years, including voting against the trillion-dollar omnibus bill Democrats recently forced on the American people.”

Robbins said that as candidate recruitment chair, Miller has “ensured Republicans across the country could win tough races and take back the majority, placing a much-needed check on Biden’s disastrous administration.”

Evans further alleged in his video announcement that Miller already “had five years to leave her mark on Washington” and to “represent the conservatives in West Virginia.”

“Quite frankly, she does not represent the America First agenda, which has left me with no other option but to give the people of West Virginia a true conservative choice on the ballot.”

Trump Country

“This is Trump Country,” Evans told The Epoch Times, describing his hometown as “one of the most conservative districts in the entire country.”

Of the 100 members in West Virginia’s House of Delegates, Republicans control 78 seats, a super-majority.

Of the 34 members in West Virginia’s Senate, Republicans control 24 seats, establishing another super-majority. State Sen. Glenn Jeffries switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican in December.

Derrick Evans with his family, (L–R) son Lincoln, daughter Marlee, son Waylen, daughter Emmalyn, and wife Melissa, two hours after Derrick was released from prison. Courtesy of Derrick Evans

Evans described how he approached Miller at a luncheon in Wayne, West Virginia, just before the November general election. He said he asked her what was going to happen with the Jan. 6 Committee now that Republicans were going to take over the House.

“She said, ‘Nothing,’” Evans recalled, saying he “decided right there and then” he wanted to challenge her for her seat.

“She isn’t willing to fight for me,” Evans reflected. “She hasn’t done anything at all through this entire ordeal for me or for any of the other January 6-ers in West Virginia who are being mistreated. That was one of the turning points.”

A ‘Self-Rescue Mission’

Asked for his thoughts on the second anniversary of the events that took place at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, Evans said the first thing going through his head is how Democrats and the media have refused to let it go.

“I just can’t believe how the liberal media is still so focused and obsessed with this,” Evans said, adding that he thought the lifespan of a story in the media was generally two days. “For this to be a two-year news cycle and for them to continue using the dangerous propaganda—calling us terrorists and insurrectionists—is egregious and disgusting. There are people out there who believe those things. That’s the most hurtful thing. I love this country. People can disagree on whether or not they think the election was stolen and say I shouldn’t have been there and I was trespassing. Those things are fine. They can even call me a convicted felon. That’s fine. But to call me an insurrectionist and a terrorist against my own country?”

Evans said his heart breaks for the other people involved in Jan. 6, especially those who are still sitting in jail.

“Some are just now being arrested,” he said, noting how 70-year-old Rebecca Lavrenz was arrested in Denver on Dec. 19 for being at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. She was charged with entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building. The government used a search of her cell phone records to place her “inside the U.S. Capitol.”

“While some have been sitting in jail for two years now, her journey has just begun,” Evans lamented.

Evans also wants to change the narrative about Jan. 6 participants.

Evans said the Jan. 6 Committee should remain open.

“Get some real conservatives in there and let’s go find the truth, and whatever the truth is, I’m fine with that,” Evans said, adding that he is amazed that “they want to lock these documents away for 50 years.”

“But the people who are supposed to be ’the bad actors,‘ the ’terrorists’ and the ’insurrectionists,‘ we’re the ones screaming, ’No, release it all for the entire world to see!' We want the truth out there, and I think that’s an important narrative that’s not being portrayed in the media right now. We want the truth. Why is the government trying to hide all of this stuff? That should raise questions for anybody who has an open mind about the situation. I want the truth. There are a lot of questions I don’t have answers to. Because, quite frankly, there’s still 1,400 hours of video footage we’ve not been allowed to see.”

“It’s important that people get to know us as humans and not as the insurrectionists in the headlines that they hate,” he explained. “But we’re now realizing there’s nobody that’s going to come along and help us in terms of getting the truth out there. So it’s a self-rescue mission.”

‘This Can’t Be Real’

Evans said he is also disturbed by how far his government will go to come after him.

“By far, one of the most shocking, hurtful, and disappointing things about this whole process has been how my government is attacking me and my credibility, basically telling me they don’t like me,” he said. “I remember sitting in prison thinking, ’this can’t be real.' Until then, I hadn’t had time to decompress and think about everything. I was too busy fighting for my freedom, fighting legal battles and worrying about my wife and my kids. I was trying to get things in order, to make it easier on my wife while I was gone. But when I was in solitary, it finally dawned on me. This was really happening. My own government was doing this to me and that was hard to swallow.”

Evans is also amazed at how the government is still pursuing people who were in Washington on Jan. 6, using everything at its disposal, including facial recognition software, cell phone records, and pleas on social media for people to turn in their neighbors, friends, and family members.

Derrick Evans with his family wear matching T-shirts at the "going away" party thrown by the people of his community—complete with a parade and fire truck escort—just before he went to jail for his participation in the protests at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Courtesy of Derrick Evans

“It makes you realize we are living under more tyranny today than our Founding Fathers did when they broke away from Britain,” Evans posited, saying he believes “we are living under the most corrupt and powerfully tyrannical government in our history.”

“That’s why I decided to run,” Evans confessed. “I don’t think the average person understands how powerful and corrupt they are.”

Evans also suggested that “the average person probably couldn’t handle what [Jan. 6-ers] have been through,” noting that three people who had been arrested for their participation on Jan. 6 took their own lives.

He is also well aware of “the attacks” that will come against him and his family for his choice to run for Congress.

“I have to preserve what little freedom and liberty we have left, for my children and future grandchildren, and hopefully increase that liberty and freedom for them in Congress,” Evans attested. “Sitting on the sidelines doing nothing is not going to get us there.”