Alleged Capitol Rioter Granted Asylum in Belarus

Update: Evan Neumann has found an indefinite safe haven in Belarus. According to that nation's BelTA state media, the 49-year-old from Mill Valley, Calif., wanted by the FBI on charges of assaulting police officers at the US Capitol on Jan. 6, has been granted asylum by the Russian ally, reports NPR. In a Tuesday interview, Neumann admitted to "mixed feelings" about his new refugee status, noting that while "I am glad Belarus took care of me ... I am upset to find myself in a situation where I have problems in my own country," per CNN. Belarus claims the charges against Neumann are politically motivated. Neumann, who told BelTA he feels safe in his new home, added his situation is "bittersweet, like eating [cranberries]." Our original story from Nov. 8 follows:

A man suspected of taking part in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and wanted by the FBI turned up in Belarus and is seeking asylum. He was interviewed on Belarus state TV, who called him a "simple American whose shops were burned by Black Lives Matter activists," the Washington Post reports. Evan Neumann is wanted on charges related to entering the Capitol grounds, as well as assaulting, resisting, and obstructing law enforcement. He told the Belarus1 station he's been in hiding, the target of "political persecution," CNN reports. Neumann said he moved around Europe for a while, winding up in Ukraine in March where, he says, he was followed. That prompted him to try to walk into Belarus, where was found by border guards. He said he thought the assault charge against him is "wholly without merit."

Belarus' authoritarian leader, President Alexander Lukashenko, crowed over the Jan. 6 riot, saying, "In our country, protesters and other dissatisfied people don't storm government agencies and capitols," per the Hill. Lukashenko's recent re-election—he's been in power since 1994—was widely considered by the international community to be rigged. A spokesman for the US Embassy in Belarus, which is housed in Lithuania, told WaPo that they were aware of reports that Neumann was in Belarus but couldn't comment due to privacy laws. (More Capitol riot stories.)