A California man accused of assaulting police during the Capitol raid on January 6 this year has fled the United States and is believed to have taken refuge in Belarus, federal prosecutors said on Friday.
Evan Neumann, 49, was charged Friday with 14 crimes stemming from the Capitol raid by supporters of then-President Donald Trump, with prosecutors expanding charges initially contained in a criminal complaint against Neumann in March.
Neumann of Mill Valley, California, near San Francisco, was seen on video with a gas mask as he stood near police in front of barricades at the base of the Western Capitol building, prosecutors said in a statement.
According to documents filed in the case, Neumann later took off his gas mask and shouted at police, "I'm ready to die, are you?" Before physically attacking several officers and rushing at them, using a fence as a ram.
Neumann, who has not yet appeared in court, fled the United States on February 16 and "is believed to be in Belarus at the moment," according to a statement from the U.S. District of Columbia.
According to a statement published by the Daily Beast, Neumann was shown last month in a special message on Belarusian state television entitled "Goodbye, America", describing his trip to the former Soviet republic and its capital Minsk.
He told the show that he was seeking political asylum in Belarus because, in his opinion, the United States was no longer a party to law and order, the Daily Beast reported.
Neumann is one of more than 220 people accused of assaulting or obstructing law enforcement during the January 6 attack on the Capitol, which adjourned a joint session of Congress to officially declare victory in the November 2020 Democratic presidential election. Joe Biden over Trump.
Neumann is believed to be the only fugitive accused in connection with the storming of the Capitol.
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