The QAnon Shaman Just Pleaded Guilty

AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File

Fight disinformation. Get a daily recap of the facts that matter. Sign up for the free Mother Jones newsletter.The closest thing QAnon has had to a mascot has pleaded guilty Friday to obstructing Electoral College certification of the 2020 presidential election on January 6. The image of Jacob Chansley wearing an American flag face paint and a horned fur hat went viral after he stormed the Capitol building along with other Trump supporters. So far, over 600 have been arrested in connection with the Capitol riots. Roughly 50 of those arrests have made guilty plea deals, with at least 11 more scheduled to join them.
Chansley, who is better known as the Q Shaman and also goes by the name of Jake Angeli, had appeared at other pro-QAnon events prior to January 6, clad in the same getup. Even after his arrest, Chansley continued to attract media attention. He went on a hunger strike demanding (and securing) a diet of organic meals while he was in jail. In late January, he insisted that the insurrection was Trump’s fault, and in March, he spoke with CBS’s 60 Minutes and insisted that the events of January 6 were attempts to “bring God back into the Senate.” Prosecutors claimed that during his incursion into the Senate, he left a note on Vice President Mike Pence’s desk that read: “It’s only a matter of time, justice is coming.” Since his arrest, Chansley’s support for Trump has abated. He had expected to be pardoned by the former president and wasn’t.
“The path charted by Mr. Chansley since Jan. 6 has been a process, one which has involved pain, depression, solitary confinement, introspection, recognition of mental health vulnerabilities and a coming to grips with the need for more self-work,” Chansley’s lawyer, Albert Watkins, said in a statement on Thursday, according to The New York Times.
District Judge Royce Lamberth accepted Chansley’s pleas. Per his deal with Prosecutors, the former Navy sailor and actor has agreed to serve 41 to 51 months in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for November 17.
QAnon supporters, alongside militia groups, other right-wing extremists, and general MAGA faithful, made up a significant segment of the mob that showed up to storm the Capitol on January 6. Despite their lack of success, many QAnon conspiracy supporters continue to push to overturn the 2020 election results and remain convinced that Trump will be reinstated as President.