QAnon ‘shaman’ who stormed Capitol begs for pardon

Donald Trump should pardon the Capitol rioter who wore a horned headdress because he was following the President’s orders, the man’s lawyer says.

Jacob Anthony Chansley, centre, also known as Jake Angeli, a QAnon supporter who entered the Capitol with rioters last week. Picture: Saul Loeb/AFP

Donald Trump should pardon the rioter who broke into the US Capitol building wearing a horned, coyote tail- headdress because he was merely following the outgoing US President’s orders, a lawyer for the man has said.

Jacob Chansley, 33, the “QAnon Shaman”, was due in court in Arizona on Saturday to answer charges of civil disorder, threatening congressional officials and disobeying a police officer.

Mr Chansley “was shirtless and carried a bullhorn and a 6ft [183cm] spear with an American flag tied just below the blade”, prosecutors said.

Ignoring pleas from a police officer, he screamed that the protesters were there “to take out several United States congressmen”, with the bullhorn carrying his cries through the halls to other rioters.

Prosecutors said that Mr Chansley took the seat of Vice-President Pence in the Senate chamber and left a note saying: “It’s only a matter of time, justice is coming.”

QAnon conspiracist and Trump supporter Jacob Chansley was one of the rioters who occupied the Capitol building.

A believer in the QAnon conspiracy theory of a world run by a global cabal of paedophiles, Mr Chansley later told the FBI that he considered the Vice-President a traitor and child-trafficker, prosecutors said.

Albert Watkins, his lawyer, told CNN that his client had served honourably in the military, had no criminal record, was “answering the clear call of our president” and should be pardoned. “The words spoken by our president meant something not just to my client, they meant something to a lot of people,” Mr Watkins said.

Prosecutors have called for Mr Chansley to be denied bail, saying that he planned to return to the capital on inauguration day on Wednesday.

Chansley is a believer of the QAnon conspiracy theory of a world run by a global cabal of paedophiles Picture: ORF

Others who heard the words of Mr Trump are now a focus for police and state officials across the country. They include far-right militia groups such as the Oath Keepers.

Founded by a former paratrooper and graduate of Yale law school, among its membership of tens of thousands are police officers, soldiers and military veterans. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, they fear that the government will impose martial law, seize citizens’ weapons and force Americans into concentration camps.

Another militia group, the Three Percenters, a pro-gun body said to be devoted to President Trump, are identified by patches bearing the Roman numeral III.

Their name is a reference to the claim, contradicted by historians, that only three per cent of the American populace fought to overthrow British rule.

The Washington Post reported that a Texan councillor said to have links with the group said some members “want to take over the capital of Texas”.

Members of the Boogaloo Bois wear Hawaiian shirts, call for violence against the police and hope for a second civil war. Many have adopted the belief that the election was stolen, according to a warning circulated by the FBI.

The Times