QAnon Shaman Jacob Chansley sentenced to four years in prison for role in Jan 6th riot

by The Right Scoop

QAnon Shaman Jacob Chansley was just sentenced to four years in prison for his role in the Capitol riot on January 6th:

 
Here’s more Washington Times:

Jacob Chansley, the self-proclaimed “QAnon Shaman” who became widely known after photos circulated of him wearing face paint, a fur pelt and a horned hat inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, was sentenced Wednesday to 41 months in prison for his role in the riot.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, a Reagan appointee, said during Wednesday’s sentencing hearing that even though he believes Chansley’s remorse is genuine, what he did “was horrific.”

Chansley pleaded guilty in September to felony obstruction of Congress, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years behind bars.

Federal prosecutors had asked the judge for a 51-month sentence — the longest sentence recommended for a Capitol riot defendant.

Prosecutors say Chansley marched into the Senate chamber with a 6-foot spear and left a threatening note for then-Vice President Mike Pence that said, “It’s only a matter of time, justice is coming.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Paschall told the judge during the hearing: “If the defendant had been peaceful on that day, your honor, we would not be here.”

In a court filing, prosecutors argued that Chansley “used his bullhorn to stoke the passions of other rioters around him, to spew obscenities and threats in the Senate gallery, and to give the terrifying invocation upon the Senate dais to the gathered rioters about removing the traitors within the government.”

Prison officials have diagnosed Chansley with transient schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and anxiety.

His attorney, Al Watkins, said during the hearing that “he would not have been in the Capitol on Jan. 6” if he was not mentally ill.

Chansley told the judge that he is “truly repentant” for his actions.

“I was wrong for entering the Capitol,” he said. “I have no excuse, no excuse whatsoever.”

Last week, Judge Lamberth handed down a 41-month sentence to Scott Fairlamb, who punched a police officer during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Glenn Greenwald notes that Chansley didn’t violently attack anyone but is still being held to a harsh sentence:

You all know that I don’t look favorably on what happened on January 6th. It was a riot and I’m glad people are being held to account for it. That said, I agree with Greenwald here. If Chansley had punched a cop like Fairlamb, I wouldn’t see this as harsh. I think a year or two would have been suitable for his actions on that day.


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