‘He has an obligation to them’: Attorney for ‘QAnon shaman’ asks Trump to pardon riotersby Quint Forgey
Politico
01/15/2021 08:52 AM EST
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Jacob Chansley, a 33-year-old man from Phoenix, was one of the most recognizable perpetrators of the Capitol siege.The lawyer for the “QAnon shaman” who was part of the deadly siege of the Capitol last week publicly petitioned President Donald Trump on Thursday to pardon his client.
In an interview on CNN, attorney Albert Watkins said his client,
Jacob Chansley, “felt like he was answering the call of our president” when he stormed the nation’s seat of government last Wednesday during a riot that resulted in the deaths of at least five people.
Chansley, a 33-year-old man from Phoenix also known as Jake Angeli, was one of the most recognizable perpetrators of the Capitol siege. He carried a spear, wore a furry horned headdress and painted his face in shades of red, white and blue.
On Tuesday, Chansley became one of the first three people indicted by federal prosecutors in connection with the violence at the Capitol. He was charged with a felony violation of the Federal Anti-Riot Act, as well as obstruction of Congress and other offenses.
In a filing on Thursday, prosecutors said Chansley was as “an active participant in” and “the most prominent symbol of” what they described as a “violent insurrection.” Prosecutors also said Chansley had expressed his intention of returning to Washington, D.C., for President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration next week.
The language in the filing suggests more severe charges, such as sedition or insurrection, could be coming for those involved in the siege.
Watkins, Chansley’s attorney, said on Thursday that his client,
“like a lot of other disenfranchised people in our country, felt very, very, very solidly in sync” with the president — suggesting Chansley was incited to storm the Capitol in Trump’s name.
“He felt like his voice was, for the first time, being heard,” Watkins said. “And what ended up happening, over the course of the lead-up to the election, over the course of the period from the election to Jan. 6 — it was a driving force by a man he hung his hat on, he hitched his wagon to. He loved Trump. Every word, he listens to him.”Prior to the Capitol siege, the president, his family members and his political allies riled up his supporters at a rally on the White House Ellipse. When it was his turn to speak, Trump urged those in attendance to march on the Capitol amid Congress’ certification of Biden’s Electoral College victory.
“If you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore,” Trump said. He also said that “you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong.”
On Thursday, Trump became the only president in American history to be impeached twice — this time, in a bipartisan vote on a single count of “incitement of insurrection.”
“We all have to understand that the words that were spoken by the president meant something, not just to my client. They meant something to a lot of people,” Watkins said in his interview.
“They listened to those words. And those words meant something to them. And they had a right to rely on the words of their president that was strewed forth worldwide,” he said. “And they did. And now they’re turning around [and] they’re getting arrested, as well many should be.”
Nevertheless, Trump “needs to stand up and own these people,” Watkins argued. “He has an obligation to them. He has an obligation to our nation. It’s not going to happen.”Pressed by host Chris Cuomo on what exactly he would like Trump to do, Watkins replied: “Oh, give a pardon.”
As Chansley’s attorney, “my role is not to judge somebody. My role is to be an advocate,” Watkins said. “If there’s one iota of a chance that the guy who’s the president of our country — who invited everybody down Pennsylvania [Avenue] — will give my client a pardon, you know what? I’m going to do it.”
Watkins acknowledged, however, that his plea was unlikely to succeed. “Am I holding my breath thinking that Donald Trump is going to be sitting around going, ‘You know what? … What’s the name of that guy with the horns? Yeah … let’s give him a pardon.’”
But “with Trump, you never know,” Watkins said. “He may say, ‘I want the guy with the horns.’ Next thing you know, maybe he’s represented by the shaman instead of Rudy Giuliani.”
Watkins went on to compare the president’s supporters who stormed the Capitol to the Jonestown cult members who committed mass suicide at their settlement in Guyana in 1978: “You know the only thing different here? There’s no Kool-Aid.”*************************
Capitol rioter known as "QAnon Shaman" will be jailed until trialby Erin Donaghue
CBS News
JANUARY 16, 2021 / 7:19 AM
A Capitol rioter known as the "QAnon Shaman" has been ordered detained until trial, after federal prosecutors in Arizona initially said his words and actions during the January 6 siege show that the intent of the rioters was to "capture and assassinate" lawmakers. Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Michael Sherwin later said there is no "direct evidence" of kill and capture teams, and a prosecutor later struck that line from the memorandum urging a judge to keep him detained, according to The Associated Press.
Jacob Chansley, 33, of Arizona was indicted January 11 by a federal grand jury on two felony charges of interfering with law enforcement during the commission of civil disorder and obstructing a Congressional proceeding, threatening Congressional officials and disorderly conduct. Chansley, who is also known as Jake Angeli, was also indicted on four misdemeanor counts.
Prosecutors say Chansley, a well-known fixture at Arizona pro-Trump rallies, is a "self-proclaimed leader" in the QAnon conspiracy theory movement. Images of a shirtless Chansley storming the Capitol wearing horns, a fur coyote tail headdress and face paint, carrying a bullhorn and a spear, quickly went viral on social media. He is being held in a federal detention facility in Arizona.
A Trump supporter, later identified as Jake Angeli of Arizona, screams "Freedom" inside the Senate Chamber after the U.S. Capitol was breached by a mob during a joint session of Congress on January 6, 2021.
GETTY IMAGESIn a detention memorandum filed Thursday, U.S. prosecutors in Arizona argue Chansley would pose an "ongoing danger to the community" and a flight risk were he to be released. While inside the Capitol, prosecutors argue, Chansley approached U.S. Capitol police officer Keith Robishaw and screamed that "this was their house, that they were there to get Senators, and that they were there to take the Capitol, to get Congressional leaders," the memorandum reads. "Chansley also used his bullhorn to communicate that they were there to take out several United States congressmen," the filing says.The memorandum also says "while officer Robishaw was attempting to quell the crowd, Chansley was using his bullhorn to incite it."
Prosecutors originally argued in the memo that "Strong evidence, including Chansley's own words and actions at the Capitol, supports that the intent of the Capitol rioters was to capture and assassinate elected officials in the United States Government," The Associated Press reported. But at a Friday hearing for Chansley in Phoenix, another prosecutor struck that line.
The prosecutor said the statement may be fair at trial, but added that prosecutors did not want to mislead the court, according to the AP.
Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Michael Sherwin told reporters Friday that while there is no direct evidence of "kill or capture" teams, there are "bread crumbs" that suggest some level of coordination among some groups inside and outside the Capitol. Sherwin, whose office is leading the massive federal investigation into the riot, said understanding the rioter's motives and level of advance planning could take weeks or months.
In their filing, Arizona prosecutors say Chansley then entered the Senate chamber with a group of about 25 rioters, posed for pictures at the dais where Vice President Mike Pence had been minutes before, and left a note that read, "It's only a matter of time. Justice is coming."
The following day, prosecutors say Chansley called the FBI Washington field office, admitted his involvement and described Pence as a "child-trafficking traitor," but said he did not intend the note to be a threat. When asked about the meaning of the note, he launched into a "lengthy diatribe" describing current and past lawmakers including Pence, former president Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President-elect Joe Biden as "infiltrators involved in various types of wrongdoing."
"Although he stated his note was not a threat, the government strongly disagrees," the prosecution's court filing reads.Chansley was arrested January 9, when unaware of a sealed warrant out for his arrest, prosecutors say he drove to an FBI office in Phoenix intending to "continue his interview." He brought with him the headdress, spear, horns, face paint and bullhorn in the trunk of his car, according to the memo.
Prosecutors describe Chansley as a "follower-turned-leader" in the QAnon ideology who has espoused dangerous conspiracy theories and described "hanging" lawmakers he called "traitors" in social media posts.
"He has repeatedly demonstrated dramatic, erratic behavior, an inability to conform to societal norms, and an unwillingness to appreciate the consequences of his actions," the filing read. "He abides by his own belief system, acts accordingly regardless of the criminal consequences, and brings others along with him."They say Chansley also vowed to return to Washington, D.C. for President-elect Biden's inauguration.
"At this juncture in our Nation's history, it is hard to imagine a greater risk to our democracy and community than the armed revolution of which Chansley has made himself the symbol," prosecutors wrote.
Chansley's lawyer Albert Watkins, however, painted a starkly different picture in a statement Thursday. Watkins said Chansley was unarmed, non-violent, and surrendered peacefully to the FBI. The lawyer said Chansley and others who entered the Capitol did so at the instruction of President Donald Trump, and called on Mr. Trump to pardon Chansley and other "like-minded, peaceful individuals who accepted the president's invitation with honorable intention."
"Mr. Chansley is an American; he served honorably in the U.S. military," Watkins' statement said. "He has zero criminal history. He is a lover of nature, routinely practices meditation, is an active practicer of yoga and eats only organic food. He took seriously the countless messages of President Trump. He believed in President Trump. Like tens of millions of other Americans, Chansley felt -- for the first time in his life -- as though his voice was being heard."
So far, more than 200 people are the subject of investigations and more than 100 are facing local or federal charges in the Jan. 6 riot that left five people dead. Hundreds more charges are expected as federal investigators comb tips, video and social media to identify and arrest suspects across the country.
Those already charged face a variety of counts ranging from curfew violations, unlawful entry and disorderly conduct to theft, assault and weapons violations. A team of senior federal prosecutors are investigating more serious charges including sedition and conspiracy related to the "most heinous" acts at the Capitol, Sherwin said Tuesday.
Catherine Herridge contributed reporting.
