Jacob Chansley, QAnon Capitol Shaman Sentenced to Over 3 Years in Prison – The HuffPost

via Associated Press

UNITED STATES – Prison closed for the “shaman” of the assault on the Capitol. A pro-Trump conspiratorial activist, who has become with his headdress with buffalo horns one of the faces of the attack on the Capitol on January 6, was sentenced this Wednesday, November 17 to nearly three and a half years in prison by a Washington court, a lighter sentence than that requested by the prosecution.

Jacob Chansley, 34, “became the very image” of this day of chaos which had shaken the American democracy, underlined the judge Royce Lamberth by pronouncing a sentence of 41 months of imprisonment. “What you have done is terrible”, he added, while taking into account the “remorse” of the accused.

“It’s only a matter of time, justice is coming!”

Armed with a spear and shirtless, this self-proclaimed “shaman” adhering to the QAnon Nebula conspiracy theories participated in the invasion of Congress with hundreds of supporters of Donald Trump, to prevent elected officials from validating the victory of Democrat Joe Biden in the presidential election.

He entered the Senate Chamber, sat in the chair reserved for Vice President Mike Pence and left a note saying “It’s only a matter of time, justice is coming!”. The man from Phoenix, Arizona, was arrested a few days after the incident and has been in detention for ten months.

In September, he had pleaded guilty to obstructing an official procedure in federal court in Washington. The prosecution claimed 51 months in prison on November 10, which would have been the heaviest sentence handed down against a participant in the January 6 assault, even though the charges of violence were dropped.

A severe penalty to set an example

This severe sentence “will be enough to deter forever any criminal act of this kind”, explained Wednesday the prosecutor Kimberly Paschall. “Justice will not stand idly by as you attack the peaceful transfer of power”.

To explain its severity, she recalled that Jacob Chansley had posted “vitriolic messages” on social networks against “corrupt politicians and traitors in government” long before the events of January 6.

“If the accused had been peaceful, he would not be here today,” she said. “A crowd storming the Capitol with the aim of disrupting the activities of parliamentarians is not peaceful, it is a criminal obstruction,” she explained.

“Just a good man who broke the law”

Speaking at length to the judge, Jacob Chansley said he was “not a dangerous criminal” but suffered from “personality disorders” that he wanted to cure to become a “better man”.

“I am not a violent man, nor an insurgent and certainly not a terrorist. I am just a good man who broke the law ”, he explained, assuring to believe“ in freedom, law and order, and responsibility ”.

Placed in solitary confinement in prison, he said he had time to look at himself in a mirror to say to himself: “Dude, you really messed up”.

Chansley “disappointed” with Trump

Before his judgment, his lawyer Albert Watkins assured that Jacob Chansley had since repudiated the QAnon movement and said he was “disappointed” by Donald Trump.

A total of 664 people were charged to varying degrees with their participation in the deadly assault, according to the Extremism Research Program at George Washington University.

Five people died during or shortly after the attack, including a police officer and a female protester killed by an officer inside the building. In addition, two police officers committed suicide in the days and weeks that followed, without a direct link having been established.

Also to see on HuffPost: Donald Trump wants to reopen the investigation into the death of a QAnon activist killed on Capitol Hill