Some Jan. 6th rioters gain sympathy for cause in red states

PIERRE, S.D. Trennis Evans III joined the mob in the 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, climbing through a broken window and tossing back a swig of whiskey in a congressional conference room.

On Wednesday, Evans was at the South Dakota Capitol, urging lawmakers to support a resolution encouraging the humane and fair treatment of those, like himself, who faced or are facing federal criminal charges related to the deadly siege on Jan. 6, 2021.

The resolution failed by unanimous vote after he spoke before the Legislature's House State Affairs Committee. But Evans' presence in the South Dakota Capitol underscored how sympathy for the Jan. 6 attack resounds among the grassroots of the GOPs right-wing.

While the Justice Departments largest-ever investigation has expanded to charge nearly 1,000 people like Evans for federal crimes related to the siege, Evans and others who participated in the attack have found sympathetic audiences in places like ruby-red South Dakota.