Belarus grants asylum to US man wanted over Capitol attack

FILE PHOTO: A mob of supporters of then-US President Donald Trump climb through a window they broke as they storm the US Capitol Building in Washington in 2021. (Reuters)

• "US citizen Evan Neumann has obtained refugee status in Belarus,”
• "I feel safe in Belarus," the Belta agency quoted him as saying

MOSCOW: Belarus has granted political asylum to a US man wanted over the attack on the US Capitol by supporters of former president Donald Trump, according to the Belta news agency.
“US citizen Evan Neumann has obtained refugee status in Belarus,” it said late Tuesday.
According to local media, Neumann entered Belarus illegally from Ukraine in August and demanded political asylum in the former Soviet country a few months later.
“I feel safe in Belarus,” the Belta agency quoted him as saying. “I am calm, I like this country.”
According to the FBI website, a 49-year-old Evan Neumann was indicted in December, 2021 on 14 counts over the attack on the US Capitol.
He fled the US in February 2021 and is believed to have ties to Belarus and Ukraine.
The storming of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 left at least five people dead and 140 police officers injured and followed a fiery speech by Trump to thousands of his supporters near the White House.
More than 750 people have been arrested for their roles in the January 6 attack.