Antony Vo, the former IU student convicted for his involvement in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, returned to the United States after a hearing by Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board on Wednesday, his lawyer said.
Rob Tibbo, a Canadian human rights lawyer representing Vo, said in an email to the Indiana Daily Student that Vo was released Thursday and crossed into the United States without interference.
The Immigration and Refugee Board hearing ruled that Vo must be removed from Canada and issued an order that he cannot return for one year, Tibbo said.
“Mr. Vo looks forward to returning to Indiana and reuniting with his family,” Tibbo said in the email.
How did Vo get here?
Vo received a nine-month sentence in the U.S. on April 10, 2024, and was ordered to report to prison June 14 by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan. The jury convicted Vo of four misdemeanors related to the incident. His mother, who was with him at the Capitol, was also charged but never had a trial.
Vo was found guilty of entering the Capitol building through a non-public entrance, spending approximately 20 minutes taking photographs and speaking with other rioters in the rotunda and National Statuary Hall. According to court documents, Vo posted on social media about his presence in the Capitol building after the riot.
Since his charge, Vo frequently posted about his case and that he expected to be pardoned by Trump whenever he took office.
Nearing his sentence, Vo fled to Canada to escape his nine-month prison sentence in June last year.
Vo, 32, spent more than half of a year in Canada. The Canadian Border Services Agency captured and arrested him in Whistler, British Columbia, on Jan. 6 this year, after it was determined that he had entered the country illegally to avoid prosecution by applying for asylum. Vo pursued a political asylum claim and Canada accepted his basis of claim prior to his arrest.
Tibbo told the IDS on Tuesday that Vo had received a pardon from Trump. He said the U.S. Attorney’s General’s Office filed a motion in the Federal District Court to have all charges dismissed against Vo.
On Trump’s first day back in the White House, he pardoned 1,500-plus people charged in relation to Jan. 6. The CBSA claimed that Vo was not on the list of individuals pardoned by President Trump, but Tibbo told the IDS that Vo falls under the president's order covering anyone who is charged or convicted of crimes related to Jan. 6.
Vo remained in Canadian custody until his hearing — CBSA officials had concerns about the risk of him disappearing before a determination could be made. However, Tibbo claimed that Vo had complied with Canadian law since his arrival. Also, he said that Vo wouldn't face any criminal charges for his entry.
“He did not break any laws,” Tibbo said. “Why not let him out? He has made a request to go home.”
Tibbo also expressed frustration with the detention and said that Vo was eager and anxious to go home.
“I am not happy about it,” he said. “If you are keeping him here to make this determination why not let him go and give him his liberty.”
Tibbo also represented N.S.A whistleblower Edward Snowden in Hong Kong and ensured his safe passage from Hong Kong to Russia in 2013.
