A West Virginia state legislator resigned on Saturday, while facing charges of entering a restricted area of the United States Capitol, after having sex with protesters live.
In a letter, Republican Del. Derrick Evans notified Governor Jim Justice that he was stepping down, with immediate effect.
Evans, 35, appeared before a federal judge in Huntington, West Virginia, on Friday, after being arrested. If convicted, he faces up to a year and a half in federal prison on two counts of misdemeanor: entering a restricted area and disorderly conduct.
Evans released a statement on Saturday that takes full responsibility for his actions, adding that he considered it best to resign to “focus on my personal situation and the people I love”.
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“I take full responsibility for my actions and deeply regret any hurt, pain or embarrassment that may have caused my family, friends, constituents and comrades in West Virginia,” said Evans.
“I hope that this action that I take today can remove any cloud of distraction from the state Legislature, so that my colleagues can seriously work on building a better future for our state. And most importantly, I hope it helps to start the healing process , so that we can all move forward and unite as ‘One nation, under the leadership of God’ “, he added.
In a video that has been deleted and widely shared online, Evans is seen crying inside a door to a Capitol building, trying with other people to make his way inside. He yells along with other supporters of President Donald Trump and punches a policeman who let them in.
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After entering the building to watch video programs, Evans circled the Capitol Rotunda, where historic paintings depict the foundation of the republic, and begged others not to vandalize works of art and busts. Some of the pieces were later vandalized.
Evans joined and encouraged a crowd that illegally entered the Capitol after days telling his 30,000 Facebook followers to “Fight for Trump” in the nation’s capital on Wednesday, FBI agent David DiMarco wrote in a criminal complaint.
Before the race for the Capitol, Evans posted a video in which he said: “They are making an announcement now: if Pence betrays us, you better get right because we are breaking into that building,” the billing documents say. He then laughs and adds, “I’m just the messenger, so don’t be hating me.”
Lawmakers from at least seven other states traveled to Washington, DC, to support Trump and protest the counting of electoral votes that confirm Democratic Joe Biden’s victory.
It is not known whether any other elected officials joined the attack on the Capitol.
West Virginia House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, a Republican, said it was time to turn the page, move on and recover.
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“In announcing his resignation, Chief Evans said he accepted responsibility for his actions and apologized for those who hurt him,” Hanshaw said in a statement. “In this age of overheated and hyperbolic political rage, I think it is a good first step for all of us to take now.”
Evans lost in the 2016 House of Representatives primaries as a Democrat, finishing sixth out of seven candidates in the district. He went on to become a libertarian for the 2016 general election, but finished last out of five candidates. He moved to the Republican Party for the 2020 election, received 50% of the Republican Party’s primary votes for the 19th District in June and was the top candidate for two seats in November, with 37% of the vote.
Like several other political winners for the first time in the November elections in West Virginia, Evans pushed aside a Democratic rival to win his seat representing Wayne County.
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The Republican Party’s high turnout credited to Trump’s power of attraction elevated Republicans in low state votes and gave Republicans an absolute majority in parliament.
Under state law, the governor will fill Evans’s seat with one of three replacement options indicated by a local Republican Party committee.