Fugitive U.S. rioter seeks asylum in Whistler amid warnings of more to come
CTV
An American citizen convicted of participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on Capitol Hill and dodging jail time in Whistler may just be the start of an asylum-seeking rush, according to a prominent legal expert.
An American citizen convicted of participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on Capitol Hill and dodging jail time in Whistler may just be the start of an asylum-seeking rush, according to a prominent legal expert.
Antony Vo says he arrived at the resort community on Christmas Eve after initiating his asylum claim in Edmonton. When CTV News asked how he was able to cross the border with a criminal conviction for participating in the riot, he said after consulting a Canadian lawyer, he was allowed in as an irregular entry, and provided a document on government letterhead stating that a refugee claim has been filed.
“I'm being politically persecuted by the Biden regime in America,” he said in a one-on-one interview in the Creekside Village area of Whistler.
“They want to put me in prison for (what was) for me, it was a totally peaceful protest.”
Vo has posted a photo of himself with his mother that he says was taken in the Rotunda of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021; he is holding a flag and they are both smiling, and there’s no indication of violence or mayhem in the background.
The 33-year-old from Indiana claims he went to Washington after then-president Donald Trump urged his supporters to attend a “Stop the Steal” rally. He believes his nine-month jail sentence is unjust, since prosecutors didn’t produce any evidence he’d been violent.
