Freed Jan. 6 Prisoners Seek Congressional Office

At least two are campaigning to take over the US Capitol, the site of the violent protests on January 6, 2021.

Many of the accused on January 6th have quietly reconstructed their lives after four years of prosecution and scrutiny, while some have returned to political conflict with high ambition.

At least two people are campaigning to take over the US Capitol, the site of the violent protests on January 6, 2021, leading to criminal charges against nearly 1,600 participants, some of which have been charged with violent crimes.

They were part of a massive rally by President Donald Trump, who challenged the 2020 election defeat. Trump has given all defendants this year generosity after voters took him in office.

So far, two men have declared their candidacy for the US Senate. Derrick Evans of West Virginia and Jacob Lang, a New York-to-Florida transplant to go to “Jake.” And several other defendants on January 6th said they may have announced the execution of Congress during the Epoch era.

Evans, 40, was the only state legislator charged with taking part in the protest. After being arrested for non-violent behavior, he resigned from the West Virginia State Capitol committee, where he just won. Evans later pleaded to charges of felony civil disability and spent three months in federal prison.

Evans failed to run to the house seat last year, but he is not prevented from aiming higher.

“We need American patriots willing to step up and make sacrifices to maintain personal freedom and freedom for our children and future grandchildren,” the four married fathers told The Epoch Times. “And I don’t trust (Washington) D.C. politicians, but I trust myself and my fellow Jan. 6 political prisoners to defend and defend the apparently small government.”

Derrick Evans, a member of the West Virginia House of Representatives, will be sworn in as House of Representatives of the State Capitol in Charleston, West Virginia on December 14, 2020. via Perry Bennett/West Virginia Congress AP

Lang, 30, was jailed without a trial of four years and six days. His imprisonment was largely sustained as his own lawyers demanded delays in the trial. However, Lang told the Epoch Times that he agreed to postpone “there may be a better chance of justice.” He and the other Jan. 6 defendants say they had a hard time accessing video footage that could exonerate them or alleviate their guilt.

Lang is accused of assaulting the police and says he was protecting himself and others from alleged police brutality. A video posted to Lang’s social media accounts in late 2023 shows him holding his hand and screaming at the executives.

Texas’ Philip Anderson told the Epoch Times that he believes Lang saved his life. Lang pulled Anderson out of a mountain of collapsed protesters after seeing police defeat an unconscious woman, 34-year-old Roseanne Boyland. Her cause of death is contested.

Philip Anderson (L) of Texas said Edward Jacob "Jake" Lang saved his life during a protest at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and the two met in person for the first time in Washington on February 20, 2025. — Philip Anderson, Texas, says Edward Jacob “Jake” Lang saved his life during a protest at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and the two first met in person in Washington on February 20, 2025, saved their lives. Courtesy of Philip Anderson via X

Three other Trump supporters died that day. The two, who are clearly natural causes, and the 35-year-old Ashribabitt, were shot dead as police climbed the window. Approximately 140 police officers were injured, but not fatal. It is unknown how many protesters were injured.

Federal prosecutors accused protesters of violating the Capitol and trying to stop the certification of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s victory. Some citizens suspect that federal agents have caused violence and conspiring to use the judicial system against demonstrators.

The criminal charges against Trump, including those responsible for the January 6th violence, collapsed after he won the court challenge and the 2024 election. On his first day as the 47th president, he signed the pardon with an executive order “ends the weaponization of the federal government.”

Many questions still swirl around January 6th and the aftermath of it. Republican lawmakers have vowed to continue the investigation while Democrats remain critical of the president and his supporters.

Lang said he was motivated to “correct the mistakes” committed by the “weaponized Department of Justice and clearly the whole federal government.”

He is also a parent’s rights advocate, correcting the crisis of potentially exploiting Florida insurance and correcting “100% loyalty to President Trump’s agenda.”

Lang said many people are calling on him and other Jan. 6 prisoners to become “the next generation of leaders in America.”

“We were forged in the fire of persecution,” he said. “You know, our personality and our love for our country are being tested.”

A fellow inmate, 34-year-old Ryan Nichols Sr., who is a prisoner on January 6, announced on April 9 that he is running for the House of Representatives in the Texas 1st Congressional District. Two days later he retracted the candidate and said, “My heart is in the right place, but I am not capable of leading this country properly.”

Another potential candidate is the proud boy leader Henry “Henrique” Talio Jr., sentenced to 22 years in prison, longer than the other January 6 defendants. He was not physically in Washington at the time. In late March, the lifelong Floridian said during the Epoch era that he had “eye-eyed” several House seats, and would soon decide which one to look for.

Two other ex-jeans. Six defendants — Leanne Zink of Texas and John Strand of Florida — are at a time when they are considering running to a higher office.

Zink, who ran for Congress last year and lost the Republican primary, said he could work with his team to chart the political future, leading to a bid for another Congress.

Many other January 6 participants and their supporters are operating politically in less obvious ways.

“We have a network of people doing research. We have a network of people working behind the scenes, it’s very quiet and we listen to it at town hall meetings across the US,” Zink says.

“I think… there will be a very big diet for a lot of people going forward.”