An Indiana man who fled the United States to avoid a nine-month prison sentence attack on us capitol He was arrested in Canada this week on the fourth anniversary of the mob attack.
Antony Vo He was arrested “without incident” in Whistler, British Columbia, on Monday, said Rebecca Purdy, a spokeswoman for the Canada Border Services Agency. He remained in custody Thursday, according to an immigration attorney representing him.
More than 1,500 people have been charged with Capitol riot-related crimes. Vo is one of more than 700 January 6 defendants who have been sentenced to prison. But he ignored a court order to report to jail last year.
US District Judge Tanya Chutkan In Washington, DC, Vo was sentenced in April and was ordered to report to prison on June 14.
He has not kept a low profile since his absconding. On social media, he frequently posts about his case and promotes conspiracy theories about January 6. He has given several interviews to reporters, stating that he hopes to be pardoned by President-elect Donald Trump later this month.
Vo has also used social media to taunt and criticize the judge who sentenced him, claiming that he was “wrongfully convicted by a kangaroo court.”
“My whole family hated Chhutkan! It's like we can sense the humor in it,” Vo posted in December.
VO had also posted conspiracy theories about January 6, 2021, on its social media accounts.
Vo said he was claiming political asylum in Canada with the help of a Saskatchewan-based immigration lawyer. He told The Toronto Sun that he is “99% sure” that Trump will pardon him after he takes office on January 20.
“I really have no reason to doubt it,” Vo told the newspaper.
Trump vows to pardon Capitol rioters On the first day of his return to the White House, he called them “political prisoners” and “hostages.” Trump has said he will look at individuals on a case-by-case basis, but has not explained how he will decide who will receive such relief.
Oluwadamilola Asuni, the immigration lawyer who helped Vo with his asylum claim, said he expects he will remain in Canadian custody until a detention review hearing next Wednesday in British Columbia.
Purdy said the border agency has no record of him entering Canada at any “official port of entry.” He was arrested on a warrant issued under immigration law. According to Purdy, in 2024, the border agency removed more than 14,000 foreign nationals from Canada for violating the same law.
Defense lawyer Carmen Hernandez, who represents Vo in the January 6 case, said she learned of Vo's arrest in Canada from news reports.
“All I can say is I haven't heard from him since he was arrested,” Hernandez said.
Four years ago, he entered the Capitol with his mother after leaving his home in Bloomington, Indiana, to attend then-President Trump's “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House. Another rioter took a photo of Vo standing next to her mother, Annie Vo, in the Capitol's rotunda as she waved a flag above her head.
government demonstration
Prosecutors alleged that V.O. inside the capitol For about 27 minutes, taking pictures and chanting “Freedom!” Kept shouting. While passing through the Capitol Complex.
At a court hearing in April, prosecutors argued that Vo had already displayed a pattern of defiance against the court system. She was charged with violating her pre-trial release conditions by participating in a protest outside a Washington, D.C., prison in support of the January 6 rioters. According to a Justice Department filing, the judge placed a curfew on Vo during his case due to violations of court orders.
In a petition filed with the court, prosecutors said, “Vo's complete lack of remorse for his actions on January 6 should also impact the court's decision regarding his sentence. Shortly after leaving the Capitol building on January 6, Within minutes, Vo used text messages and social media to brag.” about scaring police officerStopped the counting of votes and stormed the building. His lack of remorse continued after his trial when he repeatedly used social media to dispute his guilt, where he referred to himself as 'J6 wrongfully convicted.'
Following a trial in September 2023, a jury convicted Vo of four misdemeanors.
According to the transcript of his sentencing hearing, Vo later told the judge that he was “sorry for the incident on January 6.”
“I know I shouldn't have been there that day,” he said.
Chutkan, who used to inspect Trump's 2020 election interference caseSaid that the VO appears to have no respect for the court or the rule of law. She warned him that failure to report to prison as instructed could result in more criminal charges.
The judge said, “His view of the Constitution is clearly different and his view of the seriousness of his actions is different. He is entitled to that view, but the sentence he is being sentenced here today is disproportionate to his actions.” Have taken.”
A jury trial for Annie Vo is scheduled to begin March 10.
Contributed to this report.