A supporter of former American president Donald Trump, wanted by US prosecutors on claims he was among a crowd of rioters who stormed the US Capitol building earlier this year, has told RT how he came to claim asylum in Belarus.
In an interview set to be published on Saturday, Evan Neumann recounted how he feared he would be extradited from neighboring Ukraine as part of a deal with the White House, ahead of a meeting between President Joe Biden and his counterpart in Kiev, Volodymyr Zelensky. For that reason, the Californian says, he decided to try to reach Belarus on foot.
“I knew that I couldn’t cross at a border, through the normal border guards, because I knew that I would be arrested and delivered to the Americans as a gift for the upcoming summit,” he alleges. “And I found a national forest on the map,” he went on, “but it was a swamp with snakes and wild boars and more spiders than you can imagine.”
Neumann is accused of violent entry and disorderly conduct as part of the January 6 riots in Washington, as well as being charged with “assaulting, redirecting, or impeding” law enforcement officers and “knowingly entering or remaining in” a restricted building.
The American says he relocated earlier this year to Ukraine, where he stayed for four months. However, after just two weeks, he claims he was tailed by Ukrainian Security Service officers, and eventually decided to seek asylum in Belarus.
READ MORE: Wanted US Capitol insurrectionist asks Belarus for asylum – State TV
Neumann has claimed that he is innocent and was not responsible for an altercation with law enforcement officers.
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