An American fugitive who took part in the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol has been arrested in Whistler, BC.
In a statement to Daily Hive Vancouver, the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) confirmed that Antony Vo was arrested without incident in Whistler on January 6, 2025, on a warrant under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).
In April, a judge sentenced Vo to nine months in jail for participating in the insurrection. He allegedly did not report to jail by the required date of June 14 and sought refugee protection in Canada.
“Note that the harm that I fear in my country is been perpetrated by the government so I am unable to hide within my country and I am unable to report the threats that I face to the police,” reads a basis of claim Vo shared on his X account. Vo added that this claim was drafted by his attorney, Oluwadamilola (Dami) Asuni.
On December 4, 2024, Vo said his refugee application for political asylum was accepted by the Government of Canada.
In its statement, CBSA said it is mandated to assess the admissibility of individuals coming into the country and investigate those in Canada who could be inadmissible.
“In this case, we can tell you that the CBSA does not have a record of Antony Vo entering Canada at Regway, SK or any other official port of entry,” said the agency.
Between January 1 and October 31, 2024, the CBSA said it removed over 14,000 foreign nations from Canada for violating the IRPA.
“…The CBSA has a legal obligation to remove all foreign nationals who are inadmissible to Canada under the IRPA and who have a removal order in force,” it stated.
In a December 2024 interview with NBC, US President-elect Donald Trump said he would follow through with his promise to pardon those charged with crimes for participating in the January 6 attacks.
“We’re looking at it right now,” Trump said during the interview.
“These people have suffered. Their lives have been destroyed.”
Daily Hive has reached out to Vo’s lawyer for further comment, and we’ll update this piece when we receive a response.