MAGA rioter Jacob Chansley —a.k.a. the “QAnon Shaman”— who wore horns and carried a 6-foot pole with a spearhead into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, pleaded guilty Friday to obstructing an official proceeding during the Capitol riot.
Chansley, 34, faced six charges including felony counts of civil disorder and obstruction of an official proceeding, NBC 4 Washington’s Scott MacFarlane reported.
He pleaded guilty to one count. Prosecutors said sentencing guidelines indicate he could be sentenced to between 41 and 51 months in prison.
Before sentencing, Chansley’s lawyer slammed former President Donald Trump for not giving his client a last-minute pardon on his way out the door, even as he found time to issue a pardon to rapper Lil Wayne over a federal weapons charge.
Additionally, writes MacFarlane, the attorney made the case that Chansley’s decision to storm the United States Capitol building on January 6th was an act of sincere, if highly delusional, patriotism.
“In his heart and his mind he was helping the President save the country,” he explained.
The attorney emphasized this point by describing just how far Chansley was willing to go to show his devotion to Trump.
“Jacob Chansley was half-naked on a winter day in DC,” he said. “He did what many thousands of Americans did. He had the best costume of the day. He had the highest-profile look.”
Read the whole thread on the attorney’s press briefing here.
NEW: Plea hearing begins momentarily in one of the highest profile US Capitol breach cases
Jacob Chansley the Q-Anon Shaman. (With the horns, headdress & face paint)
Could be an inflection point in the largest criminal investigation in US history
Will update in thread ===> pic.twitter.com/orsctjVXRu
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) September 3, 2021
