Jacob Chansley, the 35-year-old known as the “QAnon Shaman,” was released from a halfway house in Phoenix, Arizona, according to the Bureau of Prisons.
His attorney Albert Watkins said: “Chansley worked diligently during his period of confinement to take advantage of the opportunities accorded by his plea deal to reduce the time he was required to serve.
“The Court and Bureau of Prisons recognized this effort. I sincerely wish Jake the absolute best as he moves forward with his life.”
Chansley went viral not only for his Viking outfit but for leading a prayer from the lectern on January 6. He said:
“Thank you Heavenly Father for gracing us with this opportunity to allow us to send a message to all the tyrants, the communists, and the globalists, that this is our nation, not theirs.
“That we will not allow America, the American way of the United States of America to go down.
“Thank you for filling this chamber with Patriots that love you.
“Thank you for allowing the United States of America to be reborn.
“Thank you for allowing us to get rid of the communists, the globalists, and the traitors within our government.”
According to CNN, Jacob said at his sentencing:
For more than 30 minutes, Chansley spoke to Lamberth about the impact jail has had on him, and the guilt he feels for breaking the law.
He said he was wrong to enter the Capitol on January 6, and that he is not an insurrectionist or domestic terrorist, but rather a “good man who broke the law.”
His sprawling speech held the attention of the judge, as Chansley quoted Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and “The Shawshank Redemption,” and described wanting to live his life like Jesus Christ and Gandhi.
“The hardest part about this is to know that I’m to blame. To have to look in the mirror and know, you really messed up. Royally,” Chansley said.
“I was in solitary confinement because of me. Because of my decision. I broke the law … I should do what Gandhi would do and take responsibility,” he says.
“There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it, that’s what men of honor do.” He promised to never have to be jailed again.
“I think your remarks are the most remarkable I’ve heard in 34 years,” Lamberth told Chansley, calling his speech “akin to the kind of thing Martin Luther King would have said.”
But, Lamberth added, “what you did here was as horrific as you now concede,” and he could not justify a shorter sentence.
After the hearing, Chansley’s attorney Albert Watkins said that Chansley is “embracing being held accountable.”
Just as Stewart Rhodes is sentenced to prison for 18 years, another Jan. 6 defendant—’QAnon Shaman’ Jacob Chansley—is released from a halfway house.
Chansley’s lawyer Al Watkins: “I sincerely wish Jake the absolute best as he moves forward with his life.”
Full statement here. pic.twitter.com/jgRPxX3ufr
— Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) May 25, 2023
