A West Virginia lawmaker, Republican Derrick Evans was among the violent pro-Trump mob that stormed the US Capitol on Wednesday.
In a video Evans posted on social media, he is seen wearing a helmet and clamoring at the door to breach the building. He later deleted the post.
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“We’re in! Keep it moving, baby!” he said in a packed doorway with other Trump supporters holding flags and complaining of being pepper sprayed. Evans was later seen inside wandering around the Capitol Rotunda, and yelling “no vandalizing.”
Democratic party leaders in West Virginia are calling for Evans to resign and “be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” Also, nearly 10,000 people have signed a petition demanding he be removed from office, one month after he was sworn in, according to CBS.
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Speaker of the West Virginia State House Roger Hanshaw (R) said “storming government buildings and participating in a violent intentional disruption of one of our nation’s most fundamental political institutions is a crime that should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Other Republican lawmakers from across the country also traveled to Washington for the Trump rally as lawmakers vote to certify Joe Biden’s victory.
Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano (R) organized a busload of protesters from Pennsylvania to Washington for the rally. Missouri state Rep. Justin Hill (R) skipped his own swearing in ceremony to attend the rally. They both claim they never entered the building.
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Tennessee state Rep. Terri Lynn Weaver (R) and Virginia state Sen. Amanda Chase (R) falsely claim that there was no violence at the rally.
Michigan state Rep. Matt Maddock (R), actually spoke to protesters at the Capitol telling them “we never stop fighting,” but did not expressly advocate entering the Capitol by force.
