“I want to assure you all that I did not have any negative interactions with law enforcement nor did I participate in any destruction that may have occurred,” he stated. In the video, after Evans surges through the Capitol door, he tells a police officer, “God bless you sir. Nothing personal all right. We still respect you all right. Nothing personal against you.” Evans, who appeared to be wearing a motorcycle helmet, then shouts at those around him, “No destruction of anything. No vandalizing property. No vandalizing. This is artifacts all right. No vandalizing.”
This could go in a lot of directions. It's possible he was part of a peaceful protest, and then tried to calm the crowd around him when it turned violent.
It could also be that he acted unlawfully as a willing participant. From what was captured on video, he was trying to stop others. If I was in the same situation, part of a protest crowd that turned violent, I would immediately walk away, and call 911 to tell the police what was happening.
And certainly, the other WV Republican delegates quoted in the article didn't endorse the violence at the Capitol, and called for his suspension from the W V delegation until an investigation was completed.
So bottom line, nothing proven, wait for the facts, pending further investigation.
