Jacob Chansley, the self-proclaimed “QAnon magician”, confronts US Capitol Police officers during the January 6 uprising.
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Win McNamee / Getty Images
Jacob Chansley, the self-proclaimed “QAnon magician”, confronts US Capitol Police officers during the January 6 uprising.
Win McNamee / Getty Images
Jacob Chansley, self-styled “QAnon shaman” who became one of the faces of the January 6 attack on the Capitol after storming the building in a fur hat with horns, has been sentenced almost three and a half years in prison for his role in the riot.
Photographs of Chansley, topless, carrying a bull and a spear emblazoned with the American flag as he howled in the hallways of the Capitol, have become one of the iconic images of the chaotic day. riots and violence.
At a hearing Wednesday in US District Court in Washington, DC, Judge Royce Lamberth sentenced Chansley to 41 months in prison, though he will be credited for the roughly 10 months he has already served.
“You’re not knocking anyone down, but what you’re doing here is really hindering the functioning of the whole government,” Lamberth said. “You know what you did was wrong. I admire you for being able to come to terms.”
The Justice Department said Chansley was among the first 30 rioters to enter the Capitol on January 6 when crowds of Donald Trump supporters overwhelmed police, smashed windows and was pushed into the building. The mob forced lawmakers to flee and temporarily give up their endorsement of Joe Biden’s election victory.
Chansley was arrested a few days later and charged with six counts, two of which were felonies, and ordered to be remanded in custody pending trial. He eventually reached an agreement with the government and pleaded guilty in September to one count of obstructing an official proceeding.
At Wednesday’s hearing, Chansley spoke in court for about 40 minutes. He said he spent most of his time reflecting on his life and actions on January 6.
“Honorable men admit when they’re wrong. Not only publicly but to themselves,” he said. “I was wrong to enter the Capitol. I had no reason. There was no reason at all. This behavior is indisputable.”
According to court papers, on January 6, Chansley entered the Capitol and ascended the floor of the Senate, where he expanded.
After a police officer asked him to leave, Chansley refused, saying, “Mike Pence is a traitor.” On his desk at the park, Chansley scribbled on a piece of paper that read: “It’s only a matter of time. Justice is coming!”
Chansley also led the rioters in a spell about his bullhorn, which he concluded with the words: “Thank you for allowing us to weed out the communists, the globalists. and traitors in our government.”
At Wednesday’s hearing, Chansley admitted he was guilty, but also said he was not a “dangerous criminal.”
“I’m not a violent person. I’m not an insurgent. I’m certainly not a domestic terrorist,” Chansley told the court. “I’m a good man who broke the law. And I’m doing everything I can to take responsibility for that.”
He said he has struggled with mental health issues for years, an issue that was exacerbated by being locked up. He also said his time in detention taught him a lesson.
“I will never do it again,” he said. “And I will always, from here on, think about the ramifications of everything I do and what I say and how it will be perceived.”
Before announcing his sentence, Judge Lamberth told Chansley he believed his remorse was genuine and sincere, but he also told Chansley that “what he did was terrible.”
He also said Chansley made the right decision to plead guilty and take responsibility for his actions, rather than going to court where he faces a possibly longer sentence.
“You’ve faced 20 years, Mr. Chansley. One advantage you have here is that now you only face 41 months,” Lamberth said. “You may not feel it today, but let me assure you, you were smart and did the right thing.”
The sentence comes less than the 51 months the Justice Department has recommended for Chansley, who prosecutors described as the “leader” of the Capitol riots.
Assistant US Attorney Kimberly Paschall told the court at the start of the hearing that such a verdict was needed “to send a strong message” to Chansley and anyone who wants to do harm to the country.
“The message today,” she said, “is no. Don’t think your illegal actions come here without consequences.”
