Kovacik said he had left the US because he “did not feel comfortable” and felt “unsafe” but later returned to America “because he felt homesick”
Paul Kovacik (56) fled to Dublin in November 2023 and attempted to claim asylum and international protection with the Irish Government after he failed to surrender to prison for charges relating to the January 6, 2021 riots.
Kovacik said he had left the US because he “did not feel comfortable” and felt “unsafe” but later returned to the US “because he felt homesick”.
An estimated 2,500 people entered the Capitol during the unrest, including Kovacik whose own recordings obtained by the FBI showed him inside for nearly an hour and a half, wearing a blue Trump 2020 sweatshirt, walking the halls, and mingling with the other rioters.
Kovacik was later arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), on June 19, 2022 in Indiana on charges related to his actions at the Capitol on January 6.
According to separate court filings, Kovacik contributed to the “chaos, disorder, and delaying police from reestablishing security and order” on that day.
Kovacik inside the US Capitol
Kovacik later pleaded guilty to one count of Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building on March 13, 2023.
Three months later, he was sentenced to 90 days imprisonment followed by three years of probation by Judge Reggie B Walton of the US District Court for the District of Columbia.
Kovacik was initially ordered to report to the Bureau of Prisons Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) – Chicago on August 22, 2023, after Judge Walton permitted Kovacik to self-surrender for his sentence.
However, Kovacik filed a motion to delay his self-surrender to no earlier than November 1, 2023.
A US Marshal Service report states that Kovacik requested the delay in order to allow him to complete his seasonal employment at Six Flags Georgia.
Kovacik submitted a personal letter to Judge Walton with his motion where he requested a report date after Sunday, October 29, 2023.
On August 21, 2023, Judge Walton granted Kovacik’s request.
However, Kovacik did not self-surrender in Chicago on November 1, 2023, as ordered and instead flew to Dublin, through Munich, Germany
The US District Court for the District of Columbia then issued an arrest warrant for Kovacik on November 21, 2023.
US police mugshots of Paul Kovacik
The United States Marshal Service undertook efforts to track and arrest Kovacik following the issuance of the arrest warrant.
However, it was not until June 19, 2024, that Kovacik decided to voluntarily return to the US from Ireland.
According to records obtained by the US Custom and Border Protection (CBP), Kovacik submitted to a preclearance interview in Ireland prior to his departure.
During this interview, Kovacik advised that after arriving in Dublin on November 2, 2023, he claimed asylum and for international protection with the Irish Government.
Kovacik advised that he had remained in Ireland since November 2, 2023, but decided to voluntarily withdraw his asylum claim and return to the US because he felt “homesick.”
Kovacik further advised that he left the US because he “did not feel comfortable” and felt “unsafe.”
CBP subsequently released Kovacik to travel to the US via Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport where he was arrested.
Government documents found in Kovacik’s luggage revealed that on November 2, 2023, Kovacik completed a preliminary interview when he arrived in Ireland for “International Protection at Port of Entry” with the Irish Naturalization and Immigration Service’s International Protection Office.
Other documents uncovered during this search revealed that Kovacik completed official documentation to apply for asylum with the International Protection Office on March 11, 2023.
On the requisite forms, Kovacik annotated that he wished to make an “Application for Declaration” for asylum and claimed, “[A] fear of persecution for reason of: political.”
According to CBP Minneapolis records, CBP promptly arrested Kovacik upon his return to the US based on the CBP “Preclearance Alert Event” and transferred him to the Hennepin County Jail.
Footage of Kovacik on January 6
Following his arrest, Kovacik claimed to law enforcement that he was a “political prisoner.”
Following a subsequent initial appearance and removal hearing in the District of Minnesota, the US Marshal Service transported Kovacik to the MCC – Chicago to serve his previously imposed sentence.
According to federal documents, Kovacik is serving a 90-day sentence in a federal detention facility in Chicago and is due to be released in late September.
However, he could still face new charges for fleeing to Ireland and failing to report when he was ordered to.
According to online records, Kovacik has an arrest warrant in Ozaukee County as well. A criminal complaint filed in March charges him with a misdemeanor computer crime at Concordia University in Mequon that prosecutors say occurred in April 2023, prior to Kovacik’s trip to Ireland.
More than 170 police officers were injured, and rioters caused nearly $3 million in damages to the Capitol following the defeat of then-President Donald Trump after he falsely claimed the election was stolen.