Originally published at: In an act of heartfelt patriotism, this Capitol rioter fled the US to hide in Belarus | Boing Boing
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Way to stick to them patriotic ideals…
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Well, bro, you got your wish-- now you can legitimately protest against a dictator and stolen elections.
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Regrets, he’ll have a few.
But then again, none I’ll care to mention.
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I guess he likes their immigration policies.
Belarus is currently actively encouraging migrants and asylum seekers to arrive there and is then funnelling them to the Polish border and almost physically pushing them at the barbed wire the Poles have had to erect this week to stem the tide.
Before the barbed wire, Belarussian uniformed personnel were guiding migrants to out-of-the-way bits of the Polish border, deep in the forest, and basically saying ‘Poland is that way’. It was going on for weeks and weeks.
Imagine if Trump had encouraged all the Southern and Central American migrants to come to the US and then bussed them to the Canadian border and pointed out where to cross… yeah, that’s what this guy’s ‘sanctuary’ country is pretty much doing.
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I think it’s just awesome that this true patriot can now enjoy the fresh air of freedom that can only exist under the loving administration of *checks notes* dictator Alexander Lukashenko.
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Cowardice and submission to right-wing authoritarianism: just what I’d expect from this putschist. All he’s done is made himself a “trusty” in a larger prison than the one he would have ended up in here.
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How did he get out of the country? They don’t check passports at SFO?
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Because of the lack of extradition treaty with the US (wow, unlike some of his compatriots, he actually figured out which countries don’t have such treaties with the US!), my first thought was, “Well, he can stay there for the rest of his life, then.” As a Trump supporter, I can’t imagine he’s well equipped to live in another country, even if he’s been to Ukraine before. But my second thought was that Belarus will hopefully rid themselves of their dictator soon, and he’s not likely to be terribly welcome there either, when that happens… And I have to wonder what kind of support he’s getting there now.
There was no warrant for him. The charges were under seal to avoid tipping him off. (It didn’t work. Being interviewed by the FBI was probably a giveaway.)
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Finally. Someone who hates America has the guts to leave it.
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…and let us know how it goes.
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Typically these kinds of high profile immigrants/defectors get special treatment by the ruling party, so he may not learn anything about what it really means to live under a dictatorship.
But if Lukashenko is deposed he could learn what it means to live through an actual civil war like his bros back home fantasize about.
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Well, I guess nobody can deny his love of authoritarianism.
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Hillary got a lot of crap for the “basket of deplorables” comment, but it was 100% accurate, as they have proven every day since then.
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Even before the inevitable revolution, his movements will probably be controlled. eg, Snowden is undoubtedly under surveillance; he will never get the chance to embarrass his current hosts.
Yeah, so, when I travel, I select the destination in no small part based on which country’s secret police I wish to have follow me.
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He was apparently living in Ukraine for a number of months but he got spooked when the local secret police were keeping him under surveillance and fled.
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So wait…patriotism hasn’t been the last refuge of scoundrels? It’s been Belarus all this time?
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Seems pretty extreme to get out of a few months of house arrest or probation.
That’s the worst sentence they’re handing out to these guys, right?
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