A West Virginia lawmaker resigned Saturday for being charged with entering a restricted area of the U.S. Capitol after pouring himself alive with rioters.
In a letter, Republican Derrick Evans informed Governor Jim Justice that he was resigning, effective immediately.
Evans, 35, appeared before a federal judge in Huntington, West Virginia, on Friday after he was arrested. If convicted, he faces up to a year and a half in federal prison on two charges of misconduct: entering a restricted area and disorderly conduct.
Evans issued a statement on Saturday stating that he accepts full responsibility for his actions, adding that he considers it best that he resigns to ‘focus on my personal situation and those I love’.
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“I take full responsibility for my actions, and deeply regret the hurt, pain, or embarrassment my family, friends, voters, and fellow West Virginiaers have caused,” Evans said.
“I hope this action I take today can remove any cloud of distraction from the legislature so that my colleagues can go to work to build a better future for our state. And more importantly, I hope it helps the “so that we can all move forward and come together as ‘One nation, under God,'” he added.
In a video that has since been deleted and widely shared online, Evans is seen in a doorway of the Capitol building while trying to move inside with others. He, along with other loyalists of President Donald Trump, clashes with a law enforcement official who let them in.
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After Evans penetrated the video, Evans milled the Capitol Rotunda, where historical paintings depict the founding of the republic, and begged others not to destroy works of art and busts. Some of the pieces were later vandalized.
Evans joined him and encouraged a crowd that entered the Capitol illegally after telling its 30,000 fans on Facebook in the country’s capital on Wednesday to fight, “FBI agent David DiMarco wrote in a criminal indictment.
Before the rush to the Capitol, Evans posted a video in which he says, ‘They’re making an announcement right now: if Pence betrays us, you better understand that, because we’re storming the building,’ the charges read. He then laughs and adds, “I’m just the messenger, so do not hate me.”
Lawmakers from at least seven other states have traveled to Washington, DC, to support Trump and protest against the counting of votes confirming the victory of Democrat Joe Biden.
It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post.
West Virginia House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, a Republican, said it was time to turn the page, move on and heal.
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“In announcing his resignation, delegate Evans said he accepted responsibility for his actions and apologized to those he had hurt,” Hanshaw said in a statement. “In this time of overheated, hyperbolic political anger, I think it’s a good first step for all of us to take now.”
Evans lost in the House of Representatives in 2016 as a Democrat and finished sixth among seven candidates in the district. He rejected himself as a Libertarian for the 2016 general election, but finished last among five candidates. He switched to the Republican Party for the 2020 election, received 50% of the vote in the 19th District GOP election in June, and was the leading voter for two seats in November with 37% of the vote.
Like several other political first winners in the West Virginia election in November, Evans swept away a Democratic rival to win his seat representing Wayne County.
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A high GOP turnout is attributed to Trump’s power to get Republicans to vote in the state and give Republicans a large majority.
Under state law, Governor Evans’ seat will fill with one of three replacement options nominated by a local Republican Party committee.