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US Capitol rioter ‘willing to die’ seeks asylum in Belarus
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US Capitol rioter ‘willing to die’ seeks asylum in Belarus

Man fled the US on pretence of a business trip and travelled through Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Poland and Ukraine.

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An American who faces criminal charges for participating in the January 6 riot at the United States Capitol is seeking asylum in Belarus, the nation’s state TV reported on Monday – a sign of heightening tensions between the turbulent former Soviet state and the US.

Evan Neumann, 48, of California, taunted and screamed profanities at US Capitol police on January 6 before putting a gas mask over his face and threatening one officer, saying police would be “overrun” by the crowd, according to US prosecutors.

But in an interview with state TV channel Belarus 1, Neumann rejected the charges, which include assault, obstruction and other offences, claiming he is being politically persecuted.

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“I don’t think I have committed some kind of a crime,” Neumann said, according to a Belarus 1 voiceover of his interview remarks. “One of the charges was very offensive; it alleges that I hit a police officer. It doesn’t have any grounds to it.”

Hundreds of supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the US Capitol on January 6 in a bid to force Congress to postpone proceedings to certify Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election win. The incident has become a controversial dividing line between Republicans and Democrats in US politics.

A special committee of the Democrat-led US House of Representatives is investigating Trump and his Republican allies’ alleged roles in inciting the mob which used chemical spray, tasers and improvised weapons. Police responded with tear gas and riot squads. More than 650 individuals have been charged for their actions on January 6, according to the FBI which issued a warrant for Nuemann’s arrest in March.

The Belarus 1 channel promoted excerpts of its interview with Neumann on Sunday and announced it would broadcast the full version on Wednesday. Neumann spoke in English but was dubbed over in Russian for the broadcast, The Associated Press reported.

The FBI alleges that Neumann stood at the front of a police barricade wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat as a mob of pro-Trump rioters tried to force past officers, according to court papers reviewed by Al Jazeera.