Man charged with assaulting police in Capitol riot flees to Belarus

A California man charged with assaulting the police during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot has fled to Belarus, according to U.S. officials.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced Friday that Evan Neumann fled to Belarus in February after he was charged in connection to the deadly insurrection.

“Neumann initially was charged in a criminal complaint filed on March 23. He has yet to make a court appearance. He fled from the United States on Feb. 16 and is currently believed to be in Belarus,” a release from the Department of Justice reads. There is a warrant out for his arrest. This is the first known case of an alleged Capitol rioter fleeing to another country.

The 49-year-old from Mill Valley, Calif., was charged with 14 counts, including engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds, civil disorder and assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers.

Court documents alleged Neumann wore a gas mask near the Capitol barricades, telling officers they would be “overrun” and “I’m willing to die, are you?” Later in the day, Neumann allegedly used a metal barricade to attack law enforcement, shoving it into Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police Department officers.

Throughout the rest of the afternoon, the U.S. Attorney’s office stated, he allegedly assaulted three MPD officers and one Capitol police officer. Neumann allegedly used the barricade as a battering ram, hitting officers until he got into the Capitol. He stayed at the Capitol past 5 p.m. and ignored orders from officers to leave the building’s steps, according to the release.

In almost a year since the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, police have arrested more than 700 individuals and charged more than 200 with assaulting officers [The Hill].