Evan Neumann allegedly seeking asylum in Belarus

An American who faces criminal charges from the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol is seeking asylum in Belarus, the country’s state TV reported, in a move that could further heighten tensions between the turbulent former Soviet nation and the United States.

Evan Neumann, of Mill Valley, acknowledged in an interview with the Belarus 1 channel that he was at the Capitol that day but rejected the charges, which include assaulting police, obstruction and other offenses. The channel aired excerpts of the interview on Sunday and Monday, and promised to release the full version on Wednesday.

“I don’t think I have committed some kind of a crime,” said Neumann, 48, according to a Belarus 1 voiceover of his interview remarks. “One of the charges was very offensive; it alleges that I hit a police officer. It doesn’t have any grounds to it.” Neumann spoke in English but was barely audible under the dubbed Russian.

Public records show Neumann, who has flip-flopped between the Republican and Democratic parties over the years, sold his Mill Valley home in late April. Records show Neumann, the son of the late Santa Rosa hotel owner Claus Neumann, has had run ins with law enforcement before. Several years ago, he accepted a plea bargain for visiting a family home in an area destroyed by the Tubbs fire. A decade earlier, he was convicted on a marijuana possession charge.

Both Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin have used the Jan. 6 riot as a way to accuse the U.S. of a double standard in criticizing other countries, including Russia and Belarus, for cracking down on antigovernment protests

U.S. court documents state that Neumann stood at the front of a police barricade wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat as supporters of President Donald Trump tried to force past officers. Prosecutors say Neumann taunted and screamed at the police before putting a gas mask over his face and threatened one officer, saying police would be “overrun” by the crowd.

“I’m willing to die, are you?” prosecutors quoted Neumann saying to the officer.

Police body camera footage shows Neumann and others shoving a metal barricade into a line of officers who were trying to push the crowd back before he punched two officers with his fist and then hit them with the barricade, according to court papers.

Neumann was identified by investigators after someone who said they were a family friend called an FBI tip line with Neumann’s name and hometown.