A man from Indiana who fled the United States Capitol to avoid serving nine months in prison for the attack was arrested this week in Canada on the anniversary of the mob’s attack.
Rebecca Purdy, spokesperson for Canada Border Services Agency, confirmed that Antony Vo had been arrested in Whistler (British Columbia) on Monday. Vo was still in custody as of Thursday, according to an immigration attorney who represents him.
Over 1,500 people were charged with crimes related to the Capitol Riots. Vo is one of more than 700 defendants sentenced on Jan. 6. He disobeyed a court order last year to report to prison.
Vo was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan of Washington, D.C. in April. She ordered him to report to jail on June 14.
Vo hasn’t been a secretive person since his disappearance. He frequently posts on social media about his case, and he promotes conspiracy theories regarding Jan. 6. He has spoken to journalists several times, saying that he believes he will be pardoned later this month by Donald Trump.
Vo has also used social media taunts and criticisms of the judge who sentenced him, claiming he was “wrongfully condemned by a Kangaroo Court.”
“My whole family hated Chutkan!” Vo wrote in December, “It’s as if we could feel the commie inside her.”
Vo said that he is pursuing an asylum claim for political reasons in Canada, with the help of a Saskatchewan immigration lawyer. He told The Toronto Sun he is “pretty sure” Trump will pardon Vo once he assumes office on January 20.
Vo told a newspaper, “I have no reason to doubt that I am right.”
Trump promised to pardon Capitol Rioters on his first day in the White House. He called them “political prisoners” and “hostages”, but hasn’t explained how he would decide which individuals receive such relief.
Oluwadamilola Auni, an immigration lawyer who is helping Vo with his asylum claim, has said that he expects Vo to remain in Canadian custody until a hearing on detention review next Wednesday in British Columbia.
Purdy stated that the border agency had no record of Vo having entered Canada through any “official ports of entry”. Vo was arrested for violating an immigration law. Purdy said that in 2024 the border agency deported more than 14,000 people from Canada who violated the same immigration law.
Carmen Hernandez, the defense attorney who represents Vo in this case on Jan. 6, said that she was informed of Vo’s arrest by news reports.
Hernandez stated, “All I can tell you is that I’ve not heard anything from him since his arrest.”
Vo and his mother entered the Capitol four years ago after driving from Bloomington, Indiana to attend the “Stop the Steal”, rally held by then-President Trump near the White House. Vo was photographed by another rioter in the Rotunda of the Capitol as he raised his flag over his head.
After a trial, a jury found Vo guilty of four misdemeanors in September 2023.
According to the transcript of Vo’s sentencing hearing, Vo told the judge he “was sorry that January 6 occurred.”
He said, “I knew I shouldn’t be there on that day.”
Chutkan who was in charge of Trump’s case involving 2020 election interference said that Vo appeared to have no respect for the law or the court. She warned him that if he did not report to prison on time, he could face more criminal charges.
“He appears to have a different understanding of the Constitution, and of the severity of his actions.” The judge stated that he was entitled to his opinion, but he would be sentenced for the actions.
The trial of Annie Vo will begin on March 10th.