Antony Vo, 32, was sentenced to nine months behind bars and ordered to report to a federal prison on 14 June 2024, but instead he fled to Canada.

Vo, from Indiana, was convicted at a jury trial in Washington of four counts of entering a restricted building and disorderly conduct related to his actions.

“I knew Canada has a history of being welcoming to refugees, from Vietnam war draft-dodgers to the people who hid Edward Snowden in Hong Kong,” he told AFP.

“So I packed up my snowboarding gear and drove across the border.”