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This Wednesday, a US federal court sentenced Jacob Chansley, known as the ‘shaman of QAnon’, to 41 months in prison for his role in the assault on the country’s Capitol on January 6. The defendant, known to have entered the compound wearing a horned hat, had already pleaded guilty and during the trial claimed that his actions were “indefensible.”
On the day of the assault on the Capitol, Jacob Chansley wore a fur hat with bison horns, his chest bare, and his face painted blue, white, and red. This Wednesday dressed in a green prison jumpsuit, the man, known as the ‘Shaman of QAnon’, was sentenced to 41 months in prison.
The judge assigned to the case, Royce Lamberth, stated during the hearing that what Chansley did was “terrible” and that it was so “serious” that it did not warrant a lesser sentence.
Prosecutors had asked the judge to hand down a 51-month sentence. However, Lamberth considered that the defendant did his best to show that he was “on the right track” and noted that he considered his regrets as genuine.
For his part, Chansley, who had already pleaded guilty in September, ruled that there were no “excuses” for the behavior he had that day.
On January 6, the defendant became one of the most representative figures of the assault on the Capitol, not only because of his attire, but also because he was photographed in the chair of the Senate president.
“The hardest part of this is that I know I am to blame,” Chansley said. He added: “I thought they were going to put me in solitary confinement for 20 years.”
The man, also known as Jake Angeli, has been in custody since January. In prison he was diagnosed with transient schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and anxiety.
What role did Chansley play in the assault on the Capitol?
On January 6, according to the US Department of Justice, Chansley was one of the first 30 people to enter the Capitol, followed by hundreds more.
The crowd had the objective of interrupting the joint session between both houses of the US Congress on the day that Joe Biden was to be ratified as the winner of the hard-fought presidential votes in 2020.
According to the US authorities, the crowd was encouraged by the speech of former President Donald Trump in which he called on citizens to fight against an election that he considered “rigged.”
That day four people died and a Capitol officer died the next day. In addition, four policemen who defended the compound took their own lives and 140 more were injured.
Chansley’s sentence is the longest, along with a man who struck a police officer, of the more than 600 people who have been indicted by US federal courts.
Who is Jacob Chansley, the ‘shaman of QAnon’?
Before the assault on the Capitol, Chansley was seen in different demonstrations with signs that read “Q sent me.” The banners made reference to the QAnon movement, that according to ‘The New York Times‘, “is the general term for an extensive set of Internet conspiracy theories” that claim that the world is ruled by pedophiles who worship Satan and who coordinate a worldwide network of trafficking of minors, at the same time that they conspire against the former President Trump.
Beyond being a follower of conspiracy theories, Chansley was also an actor, announcer and was part of the US armed forces in which he won several recognitions.
The man also professed various shamanic beliefs and the Ahimsa principle, which proclaims that no living being should be harmed.
Upon being arrested, he demanded that they offer him organic food in prison and refused to eat for nine days until his request was granted.
On January 6, he claimed to be a defender of the votes for Donald Trump and was one of his great supporters. An admiration that was cut short a time later, when he was disappointed that the ex-president did not pardon him after the events.
With EFE, Reuters, AP and local media
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