Fugitive U.S. rioter seeks asylum in Whistler amid warnings of more to come

An American citizen convicted of participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on Capitol Hill and dodging jail time in Whistler may just be the start of an asylum-seeking rush, according to a prominent legal expert.

Antony Vo says he arrived at the resort community on Christmas Eve after initiating his asylum claim in Edmonton. When CTV News asked how he was able to cross the border with a criminal conviction for participating in the riot, he said after consulting a Canadian lawyer, he was allowed in as an irregular entry, and provided a document on government letterhead stating that a refugee claim has been filed.

Antony Vo published this document apparently acknowledging his asylum claim on a social media account.

“I'm being politically persecuted by the Biden regime in America,” he said in a one-on-one interview in the Creekside Village area of Whistler.

“They want to put me in prison for (what was) for me, it was a totally peaceful protest.”

Vo has posted a photo of himself with his mother that he says was taken in the Rotunda of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021; he is holding a flag and they are both smiling, and there’s no indication of violence or mayhem in the background.

The 33-year-old from Indiana claims he went to Washington after then-president Donald Trump urged his supporters to attend a “Stop the Steal” rally. He believes his nine-month jail sentence is unjust, since prosecutors didn’t produce any evidence he’d been violent.

A publicly available verdict document from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia shows Antony Vo as guilty of entering and being disruptive on restricted building grounds, as well as violent entry or conduct in a Capitol building and demonstrating in a Capitol building.

A publicly available court document lists Vo's charges and the verdict for each.

When CTV News asked Vo if he considered himself a fugitive after dodging his jail sentence, he said he did, but that he believes he’s here with good reason and legally under Canadian laws.

Vo’s asylum case

Vo, who says he’s living off savings he’d put away after successful cryptocurrency investments, described his “persecution” as being the withholding of evidence by American officials. He doesn’t plan to stay in Canada long, since he believes Trump will uphold his promise to pardon rioters on “day one” when he returns to office.

Veteran immigration lawyer Richard Kurland isn’t surprised Vo has used Canada’s generous asylum provisions to avoid jail time.

“It's no surprise at all that one of those rioters would want to come to Canada and buy four years of freedom just for crossing the border,” he said, pointing out the lengthy process for adjudicating an asylum claim in this country.

He described the system as giving applicants the benefit of the doubt in order to protect them from serious potential consequences should they be returned to their home country.

Larger implications

Trump has pledged to begin mass deportations of migrants when he returns to office, and Kurland warns that Canada is ill-prepared for the consequences if those being targeted follow Vo’s example. 

“So, it's not only the Capitol Hill rioters (heading to Canada), but it's going to be those 11 million people that President Trump wants to remove from U.S. soil,” he said. “They may well find their way, caravan style, into Canada in the near future, hoping to wait out the Trump administration.”

The president-elect has made a number of commitments for “day one,” and political observers have speculated that some of his bolder promises may be diluted or delayed if and when they’re implemented.