Freed Jan. 6 Prisoners Seek Congressional Office 👉 Updatem News

At least two are campaigning to hold office in the U.S. Capitol—the site of a protest that turned violent on Jan. 6, 2021.

While many of the pardoned Jan. 6 defendants are quietly rebuilding their lives after four years of prosecutions and scrutiny, a few are jumping back into the political fray with high ambitions.

At least two are campaigning to hold office in the U.S. Capitol, the site of a protest that turned violent on Jan. 6, 2021, leading to criminal charges against nearly 1,600 participants, a fraction of whom were charged with violent offenses.

They were part of a massive rally for President Donald Trump as he disputed his 2020 election loss; Trump granted clemency to all defendants this year after voters returned him to office.

So far, two men have declared candidacy for the U.S. Senate: Derrick Evans of West Virginia and Jacob Lang, a New York-to-Florida transplant who goes by “Jake.” And several other former Jan. 6 defendants told The Epoch Times they may also be announcing congressional runs.

Evans, 40, was the sole state legislator prosecuted for participating in the protest. After his arrest for nonviolent actions, he resigned from the West Virginia House of Delegates post that he had just won. Evans later admitted to a felony civil disorder charge and spent three months in federal prison.

Although Evans unsuccessfully ran for a House seat last year, he remains undeterred from aiming higher.

“We need American patriots who are willing to step up and make some sacrifices to preserve individual freedom and liberty for our children and future grandchildren,” the married father of four told The Epoch Times. “And I don’t trust the politicians in [Washington] D.C. to do that. But I do trust myself and my fellow January 6th political prisoners to obviously go and advocate for smaller government.”

West Virginia House of Delegates member Derrick Evans is given the oath of office in the House chamber at the state Capitol in Charleston, W.Va., on Dec. 14, 2020. (Perry Bennett/West Virginia Legislature via AP) — West Virginia House of Delegates member Derrick Evans is given the oath of office in the House chamber at the state Capitol in Charleston, W.Va., on Dec. 14, 2020. Perry Bennett/West Virginia Legislature via AP

Lang, 30, was imprisoned without a trial for four years and six days. His incarceration persisted largely because his own lawyers requested trial delays. But Lang told The Epoch Times he agreed to postponements “to possibly have a better chance at justice.” He and other Jan. 6 defendants say they had trouble accessing video footage that could exonerate them or mitigate their guilt.

Lang was accused of assaulting police, while he says he was protecting himself and others from alleged police brutality. A video posted on Lang’s social media account in late 2023 shows him holding up his hands and yelling at officers: “You’re killing them!”

Philip Anderson of Texas told The Epoch Times he credits Lang with saving his life. Lang pulled Anderson out of a pile of collapsed protesters after seeing police beat an unconscious woman, 34-year-old Roseanne Boyland, who died. Her cause of death remains in dispute.

Philip Anderson (L), of Texas, says Edward Jacob "Jake" Lang saved his life during the U.S. Capitol protest on Jan. 6, 2021, and the two met in person for the first time since then in Washington on Feb. 20, 2025. (Courtesy of Philip Anderson via X) — Philip Anderson (L), of Texas, says Edward Jacob “Jake” Lang saved his life during the U.S. Capitol protest on Jan. 6, 2021, and the two met in person for the first time since then in Washington on Feb. 20, 2025. Courtesy of Philip Anderson via X

Three other Trump supporters died that day: two of apparently natural causes and 35-year-old Ashli Babbitt, whom police shot as she climbed through a window. About 140 police officers were hurt, none fatally. It’s unclear how many protesters were injured.

Federal prosecutors accused protesters of plotting to breach the Capitol and stop certification of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s win. Some citizens suspect that federal agents conspired to provoke violence and use the justice system against demonstrators—and against Trump, who was then the Republican incumbent.

Criminal charges against Trump, including some holding him responsible for Jan. 6 violence, fell apart after he won court challenges and the 2024 election. On Jan. 20, his first day in office as the 47th president, he signed the pardons along with an executive order “ending the weaponization of the federal government.”

Many questions are still swirling around Jan. 6 and its aftermath; Republican lawmakers have vowed to continue investigations while Democrats remain critical of the president and his supporters.

Lang said he is motivated to “right the wrongs” perpetrated by “the weaponized Department of Justice and, obviously, the entire federal government.”

He is also an advocate for parental rights, correcting the insurance-affordability crisis for Floridians, and “100 percent allegiance to President Trump’s agenda.”

Lang said many people have called upon him and other former Jan. 6 prisoners to become “America’s next generation of leaders.”

“We’ve been forged in the fire of persecution,” he said. “You know, our character and our love for our country have been tested.”

A fellow former Jan. 6 prisoner, Ryan Nichols Sr., 34, announced on April 9 that he was running for the House of Representatives in Texas’s 1st congressional district. Two days later, he withdrew his candidacy, saying, “My heart is in the right place, but I do not have the ability to properly lead this country.”

Another potential candidate is Proud Boys leader Henry “Enrique” Tarrio Jr., who received a 22-year sentence—longer than any other Jan. 6 defendant—for seditious conspiracy and other charges. He wasn’t physically in Washington at the time. In late March, the lifelong Floridian told The Epoch Times he was “eyeballing” a couple of House of Representatives seats and would soon decide which one to seek.

Two other ex-Jan. 6 defendants—Ryan Zink of Texas and John Strand of Florida—told The Epoch Times they are considering running for higher office.

Zink, who ran for Congress last year and was defeated in the Republican primary, said he is working with a team to chart his political future, which could lead to another congressional bid.

Many other Jan. 6 participants and their supporters are politically active in less-obvious ways.

“There is a network of people that do research. There is a network of people who are working behind the scenes, very quiet, listening in town hall meetings all across America,” Zink said.

“I think that there’s going to be … a very big unseating of a lot of people in the days to come.”

Original News Source Link – Epoch Times

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