Belarus grants asylum to suspect in US Capitol riot

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A former San Francisco Bay Area resident facing federal criminal charges from the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol has been granted asylum in Belarus. The former Soviet nation’s state media reported Tuesday that Evan Neumann of Mill Valley was granted asylum. Federal authorities say he assaulted police and used a metal barricade as a battering ram. Neumann has denied the charges. The move comes a month into Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Both Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin have used the Jan. 6 riot as evidence of a double standard by the U.S. on anti-government crackdowns.