An Indiana man who was convicted for participating in the January 6 Capitol riots with his mother has reportedly fled to Canada and applied for asylum there. Instead of turning himself in to serve his nine-month prison sentence, Antony Vo, originally from Bloomington, Indiana, has been living in Canada, according to recent reports.
Vo was convicted last year on several charges, including unlawfully entering a restricted building, disorderly conduct, violent entry, and parading inside the Capitol during the infamous events of January 6. He was scheduled to begin his sentence at the federal correctional facility in Terre Haute, Indiana, this past summer, but he never showed up.
Now, Vo has revealed that he’s in Canada with his mother, who also faces charges related to the Capitol riots. They’re seeking refugee status, claiming they’ve been unfairly targeted by the U.S. government. Speaking to a media outlet, Vo said, “Our country has a history of standing up for what we believe in. The majority of January 6 people have already been held more than accountable.”
Authorities have been searching for Vo since August, when he failed to report to prison. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who handled Vo’s case, had previously reprimanded him for violating his pretrial release conditions and for making statements that dismissed the legitimacy of his conviction. Vo had called himself a “January 6 wrongful convict” and described the judicial process as a “kangaroo court.”
Although U.S. officials suspected Vo had fled to Canada, they couldn’t confirm his location until now. Vo explained that his asylum application claims he’s a victim of political persecution and part of what he describes as a “government conspiracy.” He said he plans to use his refugee status to fight for his rights.
Vo also expressed hope that former President Donald Trump would return to office and pardon him along with others involved in the Capitol riots. “I think the whole January 6 situation has been so politicized and corrupted. We’ve been misrepresented,” he said in his interview. Vo added that he believed authorities had intentionally allowed demonstrators to enter the Capitol. “I genuinely thought the police were upholding their oath to the Constitution and letting us exercise our rights,” he said.
While Vo has undergone medical evaluations as part of his asylum process, he canceled a scheduled refugee hearing for undisclosed reasons. He said he’s waiting for assurances that he won’t be detained or sent back to the United States. Meanwhile, his mother’s legal case in the U.S. remains ongoing.
For now, Vo is staying across the northern border, continuing his bid for refugee status as he insists his actions on January 6 were misunderstood.
