American politician (born 1985)
Jonathan Derrick Evans (born April 2, 1985[1]) is an American politician and convicted felon. He served as a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates for the 19th district from December 1, 2020, to January 9, 2021.
Evans participated in the 2021 United States Capitol attack, an action for which he was criminally charged. He was arrested on January 8, 2021, and resigned from the House of Delegates the next day. On March 18, 2022, he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of civil disorder and was sentenced to 90 days in prison in June 2022.
Early life and education
Evans is a native of Prichard, West Virginia. After attending Marshall University for one year, he earned a bachelor's degree from West Liberty University.[2]
Career
Early career
Evans worked as a high school teacher and football coach in Wayne County, coaching football at Tolsia High School from 2013 to 2017.[3] In January 2017, he was hired to be an assistant quarterback coach for the Virginia Tech Hokies football team.[4]
Anti-abortion activities
Before pursuing elected office, Evans was known as a confrontational local anti-abortion protester who, over the course of 2018 and 2019, harassed patients, staff, and volunteer escorts at the only clinic in West Virginia that performed abortions.[5] Evans would livestream himself confronting people outside the clinic to tens of thousands of viewers.[5] In addition to shouting abuse, Evans would livestream himself repeating clinic workers' names over and over and screaming their personal details.[5] His activities prompted the clinic to put up a 10-foot high fence and alert police.[5] Evans' harassment led a woman to file for and receive a restraining order over "many threats to my safety online and relentless harassment in person"; Evans subsequently violated the order.[6]
Evans also frequently appeared at the West Virginia State Capitol, where he took photographs and videos of state legislators. Democratic State Delegate Danielle Walker said that Evans referred to her as "satanic" and equated her support for LGBTQ rights to defending pedophilia.[5]
Politics
In 2016, Evans ran to represent the 19th district in the West Virginia House of Delegates. Initially Evans ran as a Democrat, but finished sixth in the primary. In the general election, Evans refiled to be on the ballot as a Libertarian; he was unable to win one of the district's two seats. In 2020, Evans ran once again as a Republican advancing through the primary and winning a seat in the general election.[7]
Evans was embroiled in controversy during his 2020 campaign stemming from his membership in a Facebook group chat in which homophobic and Islamophobic language was used. Fellow Delegate John Mandt, an alleged participant in the group chat, claimed that the messages attributed to him were fabricated but nonetheless announced his resignation. Evans not only confirmed his own participation in the group chat, but said that he stood by his comments calling Nihad Awad a "terrorist."[8]
On January 6, 2023, Evans announced plans to run for Congress, challenging incumbent Rep. Carol Miller in the 2024 Republican primary.[9]
On December 25, 2023, Evans posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, a photo of a Christmas tree with ornaments of figures such as Joseph Biden, Kamala Harris, and Anthony Fauci with nooses on the figure's necks, along with a figure of Donald Trump who did not possess one. The post was deleted by Evans later after backlash from other commentators, with Evans stating that it was "[n]ot in good taste" and that it was not his tree or ornaments.[10][11]
Participation in the 2021 Capitol attack
Evans participated in the storming of the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. Social media posts by Evans depict him traveling to Washington, D.C., with a busload of fellow Donald Trump supporters.[12][13]
The Associated Press notes that in a video of Evans as he was attempting to breach the Capitol, he also could be heard chanting Trump's name repeatedly.[12] Evans subsequently denied involvement in any destruction of property that took place during the riot, claiming that he was "simply there as an independent member of the media to film history."[14]
Evans crossed the downed fence and entered the Capitol building, filming himself shouting "We're in, we're in. Derrick Evans is in the Capitol!" He continued, "We're in! Keep it moving, baby!" and, later, "Our house!" Inside the Capitol halls he said, "I don't know where we're going. I'm following the crowd."[15][16]
His actions were condemned by West Virginia's state House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, state House Minority Leader Doug Skaff, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, and Governor Jim Justice.[16][14]
Two days later, Evans was arrested[17] and charged with one count of "knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority" and one count of "violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol Grounds."[18][19][20]
Evans resigned on January 10, 2021, saying, "I take full responsibility for my actions."[21][22][23]
He pleaded not guilty to four misdemeanor charges in May 2021.[24] In July 2021, a grand jury returned a five-count indictment against Evans, including the four previously charged misdemeanors and a new felony charge, obstructing an official proceeding and aiding or abetting.[24] Negotiation of a possible plea agreement was ongoing in August 2021.[25] On February 3, 2022, the day before Evans was supposed to appear in court for a hearing, Evans struck a plea agreement and lawyers asked the court for a hearing later in the month without releasing the terms of the plea agreement.[26][27]
On March 18, 2022, Evans pleaded guilty to a felony charge of civil disorder stemming from the Capitol riot.[28] Evans was sentenced to three months in prison on June 22, 2022.[13] He reported to federal prison on July 25, 2022.[29] He was held at the Federal Correctional Institution, Milan in Milan, Michigan through October 23, 2022.[9]
In 2023, Evans renounced his admissions of guilt for his actions on January 6, claiming to be a victim of political persecution and labeling himself as a "J6 Patriot" shortly after announcing his candidacy for a United States House of Representatives seat.[30] Evans also made an appearance at CPAC 2023. Alongside fellow rioters Michael Straka and Simone Gold, he was a speaker at a session titled "True Stories of January 6: The Prosecuted Speak."[31]
Personal life
Evans and his wife Melissa have three children and live in Wayne County, West Virginia.[2]
