A man convicted and sentenced to nine months in jail for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol was arrested in Whistler, B.C., four years to the day after the riot.
Rather than reporting to jail in the U.S., Antony Vo headed north to seek asylum in Canada.
He told CBC News last week that he was hoping U.S. president-elect Donald Trump would pardon him.
Trump has said he would pardon “a large portion” of those involved in the 2021 attack on the Capitol.
“He’s already made too many promises in the public spotlight that it would look really bad if he didn’t,” Vo said. “And he’s a man of his word.”
An American who fled the country after being convicted for his role in the January 6th riot in Washington is now seeking political asylum in Canada. Antony Vo should be serving time in a U-S federal prison, but instead he’s spending time in the B-C mountains. He’s counting on clemency, when Donald Trump returns to the White House.
On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) said Vo was arrested in Whistler on Jan. 6 on a warrant under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).
The agency assesses whether people coming to Canada are legally admissible, and investigates those already here who may not be. It can arrest and detain inadmissible individuals under the act.
The CBSA says it has no record of Vo entering Canada at any official port of entry.
Between Jan. 1 and Oct. 31, 2024, the CBSA removed more than 14,000 foreign nationals for violating the IRPA, the agency says.
