Violent US Capitol ‘willing to die’ demands protection in Belarus | Political Issues

Evan Neumann fled the US on the pretext that he was on a business trip and passed through Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Poland and Ukraine.

An American man accused of involvement in the January 6 riots at the United States Capitol seeks protection in Belarus, state television said Monday – a sign of escalating tensions between the former Soviet Union and the US.

Evan Neumann, 48, of California, taunted and insulted U.S. Capitol police on January 6 before wearing a face mask and threatening one police officer, saying police had “filled” the crowd, according to U.S. protesters.

But in an interview with Belarus 1 state video, Neumann denied the charges, which included beatings, incarceration and other offenses, alleging political harassment.

“I do not think I am wrong,” Neumann said, according to Belarus 1 quote from his questions. “One of the charges was very heinous; said I hit the police. There is no reason to do so. ”

Hundreds of followers of former President Donald Trump he made a storm The US Capitol on January 6 in an attempt to force Congress to delay the sign of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 elections.

A special committee of the House of Representatives under the direction of Democrats in the US and research Trump and his Republican allies say they have a responsibility to promote a group that uses spray pumps, tasers and advanced weapons. Police responded with tear gas and violent mobs. More than 650 people have been charged with felony criminal mischief actions on January 6, according to the FBI, which issued a warrant for Nuemann’s arrest in March.

Belarus 1 video backed up his interview with Neumann on Sunday and announced the announcement on Wednesday. Neumann spoke in English but was called Russian for exposure, The Associated Press reported.

The FBI says Neumann stood in front of a police station wearing a “Make America Great Again” red hat as pro-Trump militants tried to coerce senior officials, according to court papers reviewed by Al Jazeera.

“I’m willing to die, aren’t I?” Prosecutors quoted Neumann’s statement to police.

The Washington Metropolitan Police camera footage shows Neumann and others pushing metal bars in a line of police officers who are trying to retaliate before hitting two police officers with their fists and then hitting them with a barricade.

Neumann was identified by investigators after a man allegedly identified himself as a FBI tip line with the name Neumann and his hometown in Mill Valley, California. He was charged with felony criminal mischief for firing on a sculpture with a shotgun, according to Flathead County, Arkansas Sherriff Jim Dupont.

Neumann told Belarus 1 that his photo had been added to the FBI’s most sought-after list, after which he left the country pretending to travel. Neuman, who owns a handbag-making business, traveled to Italy in March, then across Switzerland, Germany and Poland. After arriving in Ukraine, he stayed for several months.

He also said that he decided to cross into Belarus illegally after realizing that Ukrainian security forces were monitoring. “It simply came to our notice then. I am politically motivated, “Neumann told television.

Belarusian border guards closed in the United States as they tried to cross into Belarus and seek refuge in mid-August. Belarus has no extradition agreement with the US.

The US ambassador to Belarus rejected the AP’s request for comment. An official at the US Department of Justice said the DOJ would not comment on “the presence or absence of requests to intimidate foreign governments”.

Belarus 1 television anchor described Neumann as “a simple American, whose shops were set on fire by members of the Black Lives Matter movement, who demanded justice, asked difficult questions, but lost almost everything and were persecuted by the US government”.

In a brief summary of the interview, Belarus 1 journalist also said that “something” caused Neumann to “flee the country of freedom and opportunity” – which is seen as a disgrace to the US, which has been the subject of numerous sanctions against Belarus. violation of rights and brutality of opponents.

Belarus was shaken by several months demonstrations after the electoral authorities gave oppressive President Alexander Lukashenko a sixth term in the August 2020 presidential election which critics and western countries denounced as fraudulent.

Lukashenko’s government released a destroying violence of the protesters, they arrested more than 35,000 people and severely beat thousands. The violation angered the nations.