Qanon Shaman sentencing: Chansley lawyer blasts Trump for ‘f***ing up’ Jan 6 jackasses

Jacob Chansley has been sentenced to 41 months in prison and 36 months of supervised release.

The sentence is ten months shorter than what the prosecution recommended. Chansley has already served almost 11 months following his January arrest.

Jacob Chansley, better known as the “QAnon Shaman,” spoke at his sentencing trial today, giving a rambling speech about accountability and likening his situation to those faced by Jesus and Ghandi.

Chansley was charged for participating in the Capitol riot. He was famously photographed shirtless and wearing a horned fur helmet during the attack.

During his speech, the admitted that he was wrong for entering the Capitol, calling it “indefensible,” but maintained he was not a “dangerous criminal,” an “insurrectionist,” or a “domestic terrorist.” He also distanced himself from the other people he was incarcerated with, who he claims treated jail like a Holiday Inn. Chansley claimed he was “repentant” and moving away from his “sins.”

The opening of Chansley’s speech was somewhat rambling, citing Jesus, Ghandi and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as sources of inspiration during his time in prison. He later claimed that Ghandi beat his wife before his spiritual awakening and pointed out that Jesus overturned the money-changers tables outside the Temple in Jerusalem, suggesting that - like them - he could go on to do good after doing something bad.

He asked the judge to “judge the tree by its roots.”

Read more:

Chansley said the hardest part for him has been realizing that he is the only one to blame for his predicament.

He said his imprisonment was like a “near-death experience” every day because he wanted to continue living, “but not like that.”

He spent several minutes explaining his disdain for being imprisoned, even quoting “The Shawshank Redemption,” saying “hope is a dangerous thing.”

As the speech winded from topic to topic, Chansley revealed that his outfit during the riot was intended to ward of “evil spirits,” not to scare people.

He said he believed that he will feel all of the good and the bad that he has caused people when he dies, and is upset that his image has been used in the media to stir up fear over the Capitol riot.

He said that belief in a sort of karmic justice at the end of one’s life inspired him to begin working with children.

In his address to the court before his sentence was handed down, Chansley frequently referenced the judge’s military past - Chansley was a US sailor - and lavished the judicial official with compliments and praise as he made his case, promising that he would “never re-offend, ever again”.

The judge said Chansley’s remarks were the most “remarkable” he’d heard in 34 years as a federal judge, even comparing it to speeches made by Martin Luther King, Jr.

However, he said Chansley’s actions were still “horrific” although he recommended the minimum possible sentencing. He said he believed Chansley was sincere that he has changed and repented, but said what he did was “terrible” and that he tried to disrupt the operations of the government, so he could not dismiss the charges completely.

Jacob Chansley’s lawyer Albert Watkins told reporters outside the DC courtroom that former President Donald Trump “is not someone who is important to him”.

He added that any “political thought” of any kind was of “absolutely zero importance” to Chansley.

Mr Watkins said his client was feeling a sense of “gut-happiness”.

“His focus is on ‘what do I need to do to commence the healing process?’” Mr Watkins added.

The “QAnon Shaman” has been handed the most severe sentence yet among rioters charged with storming the US Capitol on 6 January.

Jacob Anthony Angeli Chansley was sentenced to 41 months – or almost three-and-a-half years – plus 36 months supervised release.

It is 10 months less than the 51 months prosecutors sought in the case. Having already served about 11 months in prison, Mr Chansley could be released in early 2024 as the next presidential election gets into full swing.

The sentence came after Mr Chansley delivered a rambling 30-minute speech comparing himself to Jesus and Mahatma Gandhi and slamming the media for “controversializing” him.

US District Judge Royce C Lamberth praised the address as something Martin Luther King may have said, adding that Mr Chansley would get credit for the time already served, said to be 317 days.

Read more:

Defence attorney Albert Watkins said after the hearing that Chansley is respectful of the court and would not plan to appeal the 41-month sentence.

“He is absolutely embracing being held accountable,” Mr Watkins said. “He is a man of discipline, he gets it, he understands what he was looking at, he understood the risks associated with trial,” he added.

It is a stark turnaround from when Chansley became the red, white and blue-painted face of the 6 January riot at the US Capitol in support of Donald Trump.

Mr Watkins said the former president and partisan politics are no longer “important” to Chansley.

“His focus is not social media… his focus is on, what do I need to do to commence the healing process,” Mr Watkins said.

Despite receiving the harshest sentence yet of all the Capitol rioters, Mr Watkins scoffed at the suggestion Mr Chansley was some kind of ringleader of an attempted insurrection.