A federal judge rejected on Monday a request by the “QAnon shaman” who participated in the attack on Congress in ruling that he may not be released from jail before his trial.
Jacob Chansley, a 32-year-old who is also known as Jake Angeli, was the shirtless man filmed rampaging through the Capitol building on Jan. 6 clad in a horned coyote-tail headdress, face paint, and wielding flag-adorned spear. Chansley’s image was splashed across newspapers around the country following the riot, and he was subsequently arrested on several federal charges.
Judge Royce Lamberth of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that Chansley’s public statements since being jailed show that he “does not fully appreciate the severity of the allegations against him.” Lamberth further said that Chansley’s perception of Jan. 6 and his own actions show a “detachment from reality.”
“Upon consideration of the parties’ filing … the arguments set forth at the hearing, and the underlying record, the Court finds that no condition or combination of conditions of release will reasonably assure defendant’s appearance as required or the safety of others and the community,” Lamberth said in a 32-page ruling.
The judge pointed out that Chansley has attempted to make the argument that he wouldn’t have laid siege to the Capitol “but for the actions and words” of former President Donald Trump. Lamberth blasted that notion, saying that even if true, it would only show further cause to keep Chansley, who was reportedly a fixture at protests where he would shout QAnon slogans, detained.
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“The Court need not question the sincerity of this claim,” the ruling read. “Even taking the defendant’s claim at face value, it does not persuade the Court that the defendant would not pose a danger to others if released. If defendant truly believes that the only reason he participated in an assault on the U.S. Capitol was to comply with President Trump’s orders, this shows defendant’s inability (or refusal) to exercise his independent judgement and conform his behavior to the law.”
Chansley pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, although investigators said he was the one who first called the FBI and alerted the bureau that he was the man with the horns at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Chansley already upset Lamberth for appearing in a 60 Minutes Plus interview without the court’s permission. In the interview, Chansley said the Capitol siege was “not an attack on this country.”
Lamberth also pointed out that during the interview, Chansley, who was documented sitting in the chair former Vice President Mike Pence had occupied before the riot, “stated that he does not regret his loyalty to former President Trump.”
The judge took issue with statements Chansley made, claiming that he “casually” walked into the Capitol building and was told by police officers that “the building is yours.” Lamberth wrote that while he is unable to determine the context of that statement or who, in fact, said it, video released by the government shows Chansley walking through an adjacent doorway into the Capitol as rioters smashed glass and crawled through windows.
“The government’s video shows that defendant blatantly lied during his interview with 60 Minutes+ when he said that police officers waved him into the building,” Lamberth wrote.
Chansley has been a subject of media fascination since the riot. After his arrest, his lawyer told the judge that his client, who claims to be a shaman, hadn’t eaten since he was taken into custody because he was not being provided organic food.
He also drew attention when his lawyer, Al Watkins, was willing to testify at Trump’s second impeachment trial, which ended in acquittal.
“Mr. Chansley is available to respond to our nation’s highest elected officials as they propound questions seeking to elicit responses to whether Mr. Chansley believed the words of former President Trump,” Watkins said. “Successful prosecution of article of impeachment requires the voice of those incited.”
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During a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week, FBI Director Christopher Wray told lawmakers that the bureau has arrested more than 270 people on federal charges stemming from the riot and more than 300 people total when factoring in state and local partners.
