Jonathan Derrick Evans (born April 2, 1985) is an American politician who served as a member of the

West Virginia House of Delegates The West Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the West Virginia Legislature in West Virginia. Only three states—Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia—refer to their lower house as the House of Delegates. Organization Regular se ...

for the 19th district from December 1, 2020, to January 9, 2021. Evans participated in the January 6 attack against the U.S. Capitol. He was arrested two days after the attack and resigned from the House of Delegates the next day. In 2022, he pleaded guilty to felony

civil disorder Civil disorder, also known as civil disturbance, civil unrest, civil strife, or turmoil, are situations when law enforcement and security forces struggle to Public order policing, maintain public order or tranquility. Causes Any number of thin ...

and was sentenced to 90 days in prison. He was

pardoned A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

by President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

on January 20, 2025, along with nearly every other participant in the Capitol attack.

Early life and education

Evans is a native of Prichard, West Virginia. After attending

Marshall University Marshall University is a public university, public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States, chief justice of the Uni ...

for one year, he earned a bachelor's degree from

West Liberty University West Liberty University (WLU) is a public university in West Liberty, West Virginia, United States. Located in the state's Northern Panhandle of West Virginia, Northern Panhandle, it was established as an academy in 1837 and is the oldest unive ...

Career

Early career

Evans worked as a high school teacher and football coach in Wayne County, coaching football at

Tolsia High School Tolsia High School is a high school serving rural southern Wayne County, West Virginia. It has a mailing address of Fort Gay, but is actually located along U.S. 52 near Glenhayes, which is known as the "Tolsia Highway" in that area. The schoo ...

from 2013 to 2017. In January 2017, he was hired to be an assistant quarterback coach for the

Virginia Tech Hokies football The Virginia Tech Hokies football team represents Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the sport of American football. The Hokies compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of th ...

team.

Anti-abortion activities

Before pursuing elected office, Evans was known as a confrontational local

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its Abortion by country, legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in r ...

protester who, over the course of 2018 and 2019, harassed patients, staff, and volunteer escorts at the only clinic in West Virginia that performed abortions. Evans would

livestream Livestreaming, live-streaming, or live streaming is the streaming media, streaming of video or Digital audio, audio in real-time communication, real time or near real time. While often referred to simply as ''streaming'', the real-time nature ...

himself confronting people outside the clinic to tens of thousands of viewers. In addition to shouting abuse, Evans would livestream himself repeating clinic workers' names over and over and screaming their personal details. His activities prompted the clinic to put up a 10-foot high fence and alert police. Evans' harassment led a woman to file for and receive a

restraining order A restraining order or protective order is an order used by a court to protect a person in a situation often involving alleged domestic violence, child abuse and neglect, assault, harassment, stalking, or sexual assault. Restraining and perso ...

over "many threats to my safety online and relentless harassment in person"; Evans subsequently violated the order. Evans also frequently appeared at the

West Virginia State Capitol The West Virginia State Capitol is the seat of government for the U.S. state of West Virginia, and houses the West Virginia Legislature and the office of the Governor of West Virginia. Located in Charleston, West Virginia, the building was dedi ...

, where he took photographs and videos of state legislators. Democratic State Delegate Danielle Walker said that Evans referred to her as "satanic" and equated her support for

LGBTQ rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Nota ...

to defending

pedophilia Pedophilia ( alternatively spelled paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of pube ...

Politics

In 2016, Evans ran to represent the 19th district in the

. Initially Evans ran as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, but finished sixth in the primary. In the general election, Evans refiled to be on the ballot as a

Libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

; he was unable to win one of the district's two seats. In

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, Evans ran once again as a Republican advancing through the primary and winning a seat in the general election. Evans was embroiled in controversy during his 2020 campaign stemming from his membership in a

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

group chat in which

homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who identify or are perceived as being lesbian, Gay men, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred, or ant ...

and

Islamophobic Islamophobia is the irrational fear of, hostility towards, or hatred against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general. Islamophobia is primarily a form of religious or cultural bigotry; and people who harbour such sentiments often stereot ...

language was used. Fellow Delegate

John Mandt John Franklin Mandt Jr. (born May 8, 1963) is an American businessman, politician, who formerly served as a Republican member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, representing District 16, which includes parts of Cabell and Lincoln counties. ...

, an alleged participant in the group chat, claimed that the messages attributed to him were fabricated but nonetheless announced his resignation. Evans not only confirmed his own participation in the group chat, but said that he stood by his comments calling

Nihad Awad Nihad Awad () is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). Early life Nihad Awad was born in Amman New Camp, a Palestinian refugee camp in Amman, Jordan. He studied at Second Amman Preparatory ...

a "terrorist". On December 25, 2023, Evans posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, a photo of a Christmas tree with ornaments of figures such as

Joseph Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...

, and

Anthony Fauci Anthony Stephen Fauci ( ; born December 24, 1940) is an American physician-scientist and immunologist who served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) from 1984 to 2022, and the chief medical ...

with nooses on the figure's necks, along with a figure of

who did not possess one. The post was deleted by Evans later after backlash from other commentators, with Evans stating that it was " t in good taste" and that it was not his tree or ornaments. After announcing plans for a run in January 2023, Evans challenged incumbent Congresswoman Carol Miller in the

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Republican primary. He used his involvement in the January 6 Capitol attack as a campaign selling point, but ultimately lost the primary to Miller. In November 2024, Evans announced his campaign for

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

, challenging incumbent Senator

Shelley Moore Capito Shelley Wellons Moore Capito ( ; born November 26, 1953) is an American politician and retired educator serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from West Virginia. A member of the ...

in the

2026 Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 – Bulgaria is expected to adopt the euro and become the 21st member state of the eurozone. * January 6 – The 2025 Jubilee will end on this day. * February 5 – The New START Treat ...

primary. He withdrew from the Senate race in June 2025, instead seeking to again challenge Miller in the

Republican primary.

Participation in the January 6 attack

Evans participated in the protest at the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called the Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the Seat of government, seat of the United States Congress, the United States Congress, legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, federal g ...

on January 6, 2021. Social media posts by Evans depict him traveling to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, with a busload of fellow

supporters. The

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

notes that in a video of Evans as he was attempting to breach the Capitol, he also could be heard chanting Trump's name repeatedly. Evans subsequently denied involvement in any destruction of property that took place during the riot, claiming that he was "simply there as an independent member of the media to film history." Evans crossed the downed fence and entered the Capitol building, filming himself shouting "We're in, we're in. Derrick Evans is in the Capitol!" He continued, "We're in! Keep it moving, baby!" and, later, "Our house!" Inside the Capitol halls he said, "I don't know where we're going. I'm following the crowd." His actions were condemned by West Virginia's state House Speaker

Roger Hanshaw Roger Hanshaw (born March 24, 1980) is an American politician from West Virginia who currently serves as the Speaker of the West Virginia House of Delegates, in office since August 2018. West Virginia House of Delegates Hanshaw was first electe ...

, state House Minority Leader

Doug Skaff Douglas John Skaff Jr. (November 10, 1976June 10, 2025) was an American politician from the state of West Virginia. Skaff served as a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, most recently representing the 57th district, as a member of th ...

, U.S. Senator

Joe Manchin Joseph Manchin III ( ; born August 24, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician who served as a United States senator from West Virginia from 2010 to 2025. He was West Virginia's only congressional Democrat until he registered as ...

, and Governor

Jim Justice James Conley Justice II (born April 27, 1951) is an American politician and businessman serving since 2025 as the junior United States senator from West Virginia. A member of the Republican Party, he served from 2017 to 2025 as the 36th gover ...

. Two days later, Evans was arrested and charged with one count of "knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority" and one count of "violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol Grounds." Evans resigned on January 10, 2021, saying, "I take full responsibility for my actions." He pleaded not guilty to four misdemeanor charges in May 2021. In July 2021, a

grand jury A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...

returned a five-count indictment against Evans, including the four previously charged misdemeanors and a new felony charge,

obstructing an official proceeding Corruptly obstructing, influencing, or impeding an official proceeding is a felony under U.S. federal law. It was enacted as part of the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 in reaction to the Enron scandal, and closed a legal loophole on who could b ...

and

aiding or abetting Aiding and abetting is a legal doctrine related to the guilt of someone who aids or abets (encourages, incites) another person in the commission of a crime (or in another's suicide). It exists in a number of different countries and generally al ...

. Negotiation of a possible plea agreement was ongoing in August 2021. On February 3, 2022, the day before Evans was supposed to appear in court for a hearing, Evans struck a plea agreement and lawyers asked the court for a hearing later in the month without releasing the terms of the plea agreement. On March 18, 2022, Evans pleaded guilty to a felony charge of civil disorder stemming from the Capitol riot. Evans was sentenced to three months in prison on June 22, 2022. He reported to federal prison on July 25, 2022. He was held at the

Federal Correctional Institution, Milan The Federal Correctional Institution, Milan (FCI Milan) is a U.S. federal prison in Michigan, with most of the prison in York Township, and a portion in Milan. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. This prison is a low-security facil ...

Milan, Michigan Milan ( or ) is a city in Monroe and Washtenaw counties in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 6,079 at the 2020 census. The community was settled as early as 1831. Milan incorporated as a village in 1885 and much later as a city ...

, through October 23, 2022. In 2023, Evans renounced his admissions of guilt for his actions on January 6, claiming to be a victim of political persecution and labeling himself as a "J6 Patriot" shortly after announcing his candidacy for a

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

seat. Evans also made an appearance at CPAC 2023. Alongside fellow rioters Brandon Straka and Simone Gold, he was a speaker at a session titled "True Stories of January 6: The Prosecuted Speak." On January 20, 2025, after beginning his second term in office, President Trump issued pardons to Evans and roughly 1,500 other individuals charged with crimes connected to January 6th. Evans celebrated the pardon on

X (formerly Twitter) Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, imag ...

, writing: "Praise the Lord. We won. My name is cleared. I have my rights back. I have my life back."

Personal life

Evans and his wife Melissa have three children and live in

Wayne County, West Virginia Wayne County is the westernmost County (United States), county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 38,982. Its county seat is Wayne, West Virginia, Wayne. The county was fou ...

Electoral history

References

External links

Biography
at

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

Webpage (archived)
at

2024 Congressional campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Derrick 1985 births 21st-century American far-right politicians 21st-century members of the West Virginia Legislature American government officials convicted of crimes American male criminals Candidates in the 2016 United States elections Candidates in the 2024 United States House of Representatives elections Coaches of American football from West Virginia Convicted participants in the January 6 United States Capitol attack People pardoned by Donald Trump Criminals from West Virginia Living people Members of the West Virginia House of Delegates People from Wayne County, West Virginia Schoolteachers from West Virginia Virginia Tech Hokies football coaches West Liberty University alumni West Virginia Democrats West Virginia Libertarians West Virginia politicians convicted of crimes West Virginia Republicans