An Indiana man sentenced to nine months in prison for entering the U.S. Capitol during protests on Jan. 6, 2021, has been arrested at a ski resort in Whistler, B.C., just over a month after applying for political asylum in Canada.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) said in a statement that Antony Vo, 32, was arrested on Jan. 6 without incident. Vo had been sentenced by a U.S. judge to nine months in prison after being convicted of entering the U.S. Capitol with his mother amid protests outside the building four years ago, but he left for Canada instead of reporting to prison.
The CBSA says it has no record of Vo entering Canada, and that the agency is obligated to remove all foreign nationals who are inadmissible to Canada.
Vo’s refugee claim was received by the Canadian government on Dec. 2, 2024, according to documents he posted on social media platform X on Dec. 4. In his basis of claim, which he posted at the same time, he described the Jan. 6 incident as a “peaceful protest” and said protesters were mistreated for their political beliefs.
Vo’s lawyer, Oluwadamilola Asuni, said the government document Vo posted on social media “appears legitimate” after comparing it with the one on record.
Vo was convicted of four misdemeanours in September 2023, including entering and remaining in a restricted building, disorderly conduct in a restricted building, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.
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Defence attorneys in Vo’s case had requested no prison time, saying he was not accused of engaging in violence and that he left the Capitol within 30 minutes of entering. Prosecutors sought 11 months in prison, arguing that Vo showed a lack of remorse, which they said was evidenced by some of Vo’s statements, including his self-description on social media of being a “J6 wrongful convict.”
Before learning of his sentence, Vo said he was “sorry for everything” and should not have entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has described Jan. 6 jailed defendants as “hostages, not prisoners.” In March 2024, he said one of his first acts in office, if he won the presidential election that year, would be to “Free the January 6 Hostages being wrongfully imprisoned!”
Zachary Stieber, The Canadian Press, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
