'QAnon Shaman' Jacob Chansley to plead guilty over Capitol riot role
Jacob Chansley, a 33-year-old from Arizona who was photographed inside the Capitol on Jan. 6 wearing face paint and a bearskin outfit with horns, has agreed to a plea deal, court records show.
Chansley is well known in the QAnon conspiracy world, and has been dubbed the "QAnon Shaman." He was charged with six felonies in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, including obstructing congressional proceedings, and is set to appear in court on Friday. The details of his plea agreement have not yet been released.
Since his arrest in the days after the riot, Chansley has tried multiple times to get out of jail. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth refused to let him out, writing in March that "the Court finds none of his many attempts to manipulate the evidence and minimize the seriousness of his actions persuasive."
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In a statement released Thursday, Chansley's attorney Al Watkins said over the last several months, his client has undergone "a process, one which has involved pain, depression, solitary confinement, introspection, recognition of mental health vulnerabilities, and a coming to grips with the need for more self-work." Watkins added that Chansley is currently "seeking, as part of his reconciliation of where he is today, to step away and distance himself from the Q vortex."
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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