West Virginia Assemblyman Derrick Evans (R) entered the Capitol without legal authorization on Jan. 6, which led to high public pressure on him, and on Saturday (Jan. 9), Evans announced he would resign immediately.
Evans, a Republican, said in a letter from West Virginia’s governor that he would resign immediately. In a statement, Evans said the past few days “have been a difficult time for my family, my colleagues and myself.”
“Therefore, I feel it is best to resign my seat in the House of Representatives at this time. …… I take full responsibility for my actions and deeply regret any harm, pain or embarrassment that may have been caused to my family, friends, constituents and fellow West Virginians.”
Evans, 35, entered the Capitol with the crowd of protesters on Jan. 6 and took video of himself.
According to an affidavit filed with the criminal complaint, Evans entered Congress with the crowd and said on the air, “We’re in, we’re in! Derek Evans is at the Capitol!” During that time, he fist-bumped a U.S. Capitol police officer and said, “We’ll respect you, all right!” He also shouted, “No vandalism! No destruction of property, no vandalism!”
After news broke about his involvement in the violation, Evans told fans on Facebook that he was taking a bus back to West Virginia.
“As many of you know, over the past few years I have traveled the country to photograph many different events. Today, I had the opportunity to shoot another event in the District of Columbia,” he wrote. “I want to assure everyone that I have had no negative interactions with law enforcement and have not been involved in any possible sabotage. I was simply there as an independent member of Film History Media.”
Evans is currently charged with one count of entering or remaining in a restricted building or venue without lawful authority and with a maximum sentence of one year on the related charge.
In his letter, Evans wrote, “I hope that this action (resignation) I am taking today will remove any distractions from the State House so that my colleagues can get to work in earnest to build a brighter future for our state. More importantly, I hope it will be helpful in beginning the recovery process so that we can all move forward together as ‘one nation under God.”
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