A U.S. citizen convicted of participating in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and avoiding jail time in Whistler may be just the beginning of a career of asylum seekers, according to a leading legal expert.
Antony Vo says he arrived in the resort community on Christmas Eve after starting 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 that after consulting a Canadian lawyer, he was allowed entry as an irregular entry and provided a document on government letterhead that said a refugee the claim has been filed.
Antony Vo posted this document apparently acknowledging his asylum claim on a social media account.
“I am being persecuted politically by the Biden regime in the United States,” he said in a one-on-one interview in the Creekside Village area of Whistler.
“They want to put me in prison for (what it was) for me, it was a totally peaceful protest.”
Vo posted a photo of himself with his mother that he says was taken in the US Capitol Rotunda on January 6, 2021; he is holding a flag and they are both smiling, and there is no hint of violence or chaos 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 unfair, as prosecutors did not present any evidence that he was violent.
A publicly available verdict document from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia shows Antony Vo guilty of entering and disturbing restricted construction grounds, as well as entering or engaging in violent 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 yes, but he believes he is here for good reason and legally under Canadian law.
Vo’s asylum case
Vo, who says he lives off savings he had saved after successful cryptocurrency investments, described his “persecution” as the withholding of evidence by US officials. He does not plan to stay in Canada for long, as he believes Trump will make good on his promise to pardon rioters from “day one” when he returns to office.
Veteran immigration lawyer Richard Kurland is not surprised that Vo used Canada’s generous asylum provisions to avoid jail time.
“It’s not at all surprising that one of these troublemakers would want to come to Canada and buy four years of freedom just by crossing the border,” he said, pointing to the lengthy process of adjudicating an asylum claim in this country.
He described the system as giving applicants the benefit of the doubt to protect them from potentially serious consequences if they are returned to their home country.
Most important implications
Trump has promised to begin mass deportations of immigrants when he returns to office, and Kurland warns that Canada is not prepared for the consequences if those being targeted follow Vo’s lead.
“So, it’s not just the Capitol rioters (heading to Canada), but it will be those 11 million people that President Trump wants to expel from American soil,” he said. “They may very well find their way, caravan style, to Canada in the near future, hoping to wait out the Trump administration.”
The president-elect has made a number of “day one” commitments, and political observers have speculated that some of his boldest promises could be watered down or delayed if implemented.
