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US man charged in Capitol attack gets asylum in Belarus

US man charged in Capitol attack gets asylum in Belarus

Evan Neumann, accused of hitting police with metal barricade, tells Belarusian state TV he has ‘mixed feelings’ about the move

A former San Francisco Bay Area resident facing federal criminal charges from the January 6 attack at the US Capitol has been granted asylum in Belarus, the former Soviet nation’s state media reported on Tuesday.

Evan Neumann, 49, was charged a year ago with assaulting police, including using a metal barricade as a battering ram during the riot last year. In an interview with the Belarus 1 channel that aired last year, he acknowledged being at the building that day but rejected the charges and said he had not hit any officers.

The move comes a month into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Joe Biden was heading to Europe to talk with allies about possible new sanctions against Russia and more military aid for Ukraine.

“Today I have mixed feelings,” Neumann told the state-owned television network BelTA in the report aired on Tuesday, the Washington Post reported. “I am glad Belarus took care of me. I am upset to find myself in a situation where I have problems in my own country.”

The Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, and Russian president, Vladimir Putin, have used the riot as evidence of a supposed double standard by the US, which often condemns crackdowns on anti-government demonstrations elsewhere.

Belarus is a Russian ally and neighbor to Ukraine. It does not have an extradition agreement with the US.

Neumann told Belarus 1 that he had traveled to Italy in March 2021 and eventually arrived in Ukraine before crossing over illegally into Belarus. He owns a handbag manufacturing business.

Police body-camera footage shows Neumann and others shoving a metal barricade into a line of officers before he punches two officers and hits them with the barricade, according to court papers. Court documents state Neumann stood at the front of a police barricade wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat in support of Donald Trump.

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Source: Elections - theguardian.com


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