'Hunters will become the hunted': Convicted J6er running for Congress makes a new promise
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23 March 2024
On Halloween, Derrick Evans posted on social media a picture of himself in an orange prison jumpsuit and his wife in a police uniform.
“As a J6 Political Prisoner,” Evans wrote, “this is still my favorite Halloween costume.”
In January, he posted a photo of an ID badge and wrote, “Found this today: It's my Prison ID from when they held me hostage as a January 6th Political Prisoner.”
Evans, an admitted felon and Donald Trump acolyte, who spent three months in federal prison, now wants to get back to the Capitol — but this time, as an elected lawmaker.
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Evans is running for the Republican nomination in West Virginia’s 1st Congressional District — an overwhelmingly conservative area where the Republican nominee is all but assured to win.
He is running from the right of incumbent Rep. Carol Miller, a Republican who Evans dismissed in a recent social media post as “worse than a RINO,” the political slur for “Republican in name only.”
Added Evans: “She is an undocumented Democrat.”
This week, Evans touted an endorsement from presidentially pardoned Trump operative Roger Stone, who said, “Derrick did time in prison and even in solitary confinement for standing with President Trump and protesting Joe Biden's stolen election.”
Evans also has endorsements from Trump loyalists Michael Flynn, the retired general, and Mike Lindell, the bombastic pillow peddler.
Neither Evans nor Miller responded to Raw Story’s request for comment.
Evans has embraced January 6 as his primary brand. But he sprinkles racism and Christian Nationalism into his public missives, as well.
A recent post by Evans on X invoked the racist “replacement theory” that non-white immigrants are part of a plot to replace white political and social power.
Another, seemingly random post, said, “Put Aunt Jemima back on the syrup bottle,” a reference to the Quaker Oats company changing the name and label of its famous brand by eliminating the racist caricature of a Black woman.
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He has also posted of the former first lady, “Who thinks Michelle Obama is really a man?”
In a recent post, Evans complained that “Christian tax dollars” were being used to paint rainbow sidewalks, and another post said, simply, “You can follow the science. I’m going to continue following Jesus.”
Go to Evans’ website and you’ll find a page that might cause you to believe the site is hacked.
“J6 PRISONER running for U.S. CONGRESS,” it says under a photo of a man in a gray hoodie leaving a building and looking down. “Standing U.S. Legislator Arrested and Imprisoned. MEET DERRICK EVANS.”
But it isn’t a hack. It’s Evans’ sales pitch.
A fundraising page on Evans’ campaign website says, “When I take my seat in Congress, we will turn the tables and the hunters will become the hunted. Mark my words, they fear Patriots like President Trump and myself. Bogus charges are all they have left.”
‘The revolution has started!’
Evans, a member of West Virginia’s House of Delegates before resigning after his arrest, has amassed a large social media following.
He admitted in court documents that he posted inflammatory messages on social media promoting Trump’s speech on January 6, 2021. They included an image that said, “A STORM IS COMING … AND THERE IS NOTHING THE LEFT CAN DO TO STOP IT!” Another said, “FIGHT FOR TRUMP - JANUARY 6 - We’re Comin’!”
Evans took a chartered bus to Washington, D.C. He skipped Trump’s speech because of the long lines and went straight to the Capitol. He saw the crowd grow, overwhelm police and breach the entryway. Evans was close behind.
On Facebook, Evans live streamed — and later tried to delete — video of the insurrection, peppered with his own giddy commentary as he entered the Capitol: “Patriots ain’t gonna stand down to tyranny anymore! Patriots ain’t gonna stand down for stolen elections anymore!”
At one point, Evans is shown shouting to police officers. He turns the camera to himself, wearing a helmet, and says, “Let’s go! We took it over. We took it over!”
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After a loud bang from the direction of the Rotunda doors, an unidentified person says, “It’s time to leave.”
“No it ain’t!” Evans says. “The Doors are open! The Doors are open! It’s no time to leave! We haven’t done nothing yet! … On the back side of the Capitol! American Patriots have took a stand! We’re at the Doors, knocking and pounding on the doors. We’ve taken over the balconies, on top of vehicles!”
He exults, “Guys, oh my gosh, I can’t even explain what is happening right now, how
amazing this is to see in person. I am in awe. The revolution has started. The revolution has started!”
Evans would become much less enthusiastic when he stood charged with federal felonies that were reduced to a single count as part of a plea bargain.
A low profile?
Before his sentencing on June 22, 2022, numerous letters of support from family and friends extolled Evans’ good deeds. He had no criminal record before the insurrection.
Evans said in a statement three days after being arrested, “I take full responsibility for my actions, and deeply regret any hurt, pain or embarrassment I may have caused my family, friends, constituents and fellow West Virginians.”
He presented himself to the court as contrite. In a memo for the judge to consider before sentencing, even prosecutors said Evans had cooperated, been remorseful and “kept a low profile.”
“This distinguishes Evans from some rioters with significant public profiles who have used their platforms after January 6 to brag about their conduct or to continue to promote the myth that the presidential election was stolen, justifying the incursion into the Capitol,” prosecutors wrote.
Evans, 38, and his wife have four young children. Before Evans became prisoner No. 24839-509, his lawyer filed letters of support for the judge to consider at sentencing. One was from a Facebook follower named Kimberly D. Maynard, who was obviously impressed with Evans’ post-arrest, pre-sentencing persona.
The judge sentenced Evans to three months in federal prison — well below the maximum five years — and a $2,000 fine.
But Evans’ “low profile” became a return to politics with a coarse, loud and proud defense of his actions on January 6 and everything MAGA.
He has claimed that because he refused to get the COVID vaccine upon entering the minimum-security prison he was placed in solitary confinement for eight days. Asked to verify the former inmate’s account, a Federal Bureau of Prisons spokesperson declined to comment.
Evans is also speaking volumes about how he was actually right on January 6, and that President Joe Biden committed “theft of the Nov. 3, 2020, U.S. presidential election.”
Instead of letters, Evans’ supporters are now sending money. His campaign had raised nearly $300,000 as of Dec. 31, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission, with most of that coming from small-dollar donors who gave $200 or less.
Miller’s campaign has raised about $580,000 this election cycle — almost all of it from large-dollar donors and political action committees, FEC filings indicate.
The Republican primary between Evans and Miller is scheduled for May 14.