An American who fled after being sentenced to prison for his role in the January 6, 2021 assault on the Capitol in Washington has requested asylum in Canada, hoping to be pardoned when Donald Trump returns at the White House.
Antony Vo, 32, was sentenced to nine months in prison and ordered to report to a federal prison in the state of Indiana on June 14, 2024. But he fled to Canada, – he told AFP on Tuesday.
“I know Canada is historically welcoming to refugees,” he said. “So I (…) crossed the border by car. »
The man was convicted on four counts during a jury trial in Washington in September 2023.
More than 1,500 people have been charged by federal courts for participating in the assault on the Capitol, the day the electoral victory of Democrat Joe Biden was certified.
Antony Vo hopes to stay in Canada “until it is safe for me to return” to the United States. “When Donald Trump takes office (on January 20), I hope that he will pardon me, as well as the other demonstrators of January 6,” he explained to AFP.
The President-elect of the United States recently described January 6, 2021 as a “day of love” and an “overflow of affection” towards him and, after his victory in early November, the lawyers of several defendants filed appeals for request the postponement of their next hearing, including for the pronouncement of their sentence when they have already been found guilty.
On its website, the Canadian government specifies that a person can request protection from Canada if they are at “risk of torture” or can prove that a return to their country of origin would result in a “risk of treatment or punishment cruel and unusual.”
Antony Vo, who on his persecuted, mistreated” and victim of an “unjust trial”.
After filing his asylum application in November, the man missed a hearing scheduled for mid-December with Canadian authorities, fearing being arrested and deported “because I am a fugitive,” he said. to the AFP.
