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U.S. Capitol rioter the

'QAnon Shaman' is
released early from
federal prison
March 31, 2023 · 11:19 AM ET

Juliana Kim

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Jacob Chansley, also known as the "QAnon Shaman," screams

"freedom" inside the U.S. Senate chamber after the U.S. Capitol
was breached by a mob during a joint session of Congress on
January 6, 2021, in Washington, D.C.
Win McNamee/Getty Images

Jacob Chansley, who received one of the

longest sentences handed down to a U.S.
Capitol rioter, has been released early
from federal prison and sent to a reentry
center.

Chansley, 35, was convicted of

obstruction of an official proceeding in
Nov. 2021 and sentenced to 41 months
in prison. But prison records show that
Chansley has been moved to a residential
reentry management facility in Phoenix,
where he is originally from, and is
expected to be released on May 25.

LAW

Self-styled 'QAnon shaman' is

sentenced to 41 months in Capitol
riot

Chansley received an early release, in

part, because of his good behavior while
in prison, says Albert Watkins, who
represented Chansley through his plea
and sentencing.

"Mr. Chansley can now move forward

with his life. For that I applaud the
BOP," Watkins told NPR in a statement.

The U.S. Bureau of Prisons permitted its

existing protocols, some of which are
nuanced, to appropriately permit the
release of Mr. Chansley from prison,
Watkins said.

Chansley, also known as QAnon

Shaman, became a notorious face for the
Jan. 6 attack after storming into the
Capitol bare-chested in a fur headdress
with horns. According to the Justice
Department, Chansley was among the
first 30 rioters to breach the government
building.

Sponsor Message

INVESTIGATIONS

1,000 people have been charged

for the Capitol riot. Here's where
their cases stand

Inside, he took pictures of himself on the

dais of the Senate floor and sat in the
seat Vice President Mike Pence had
occupied an hour earlier, the Justice
Department said. When a police officer
asked him to leave, Chansley refused and
called Pence a "traitor." He later left a
note on the dais that read "It's Only A
Matter of Time. Justice Is Coming!"

Chansley was arrested a few days later

and indicted on six charges, two of which
were felonies. He ultimately struck a deal
with the government and pleaded guilty
to a single count of obstruction of an
official proceeding.

INVESTIGATIONS

The Jan. 6 attack: The cases

behind the biggest criminal
investigation in U.S. history

"Men of honor admit when they're

wrong. Not just publicly but to
themselves," Chansley told the court in
Nov. 2021. "I was wrong for entering the
Capitol. I have no excuse. No excuse
whatsoever. The behavior is
indefensible."

Chansley was a vocal believer of several

conspiracy theories including QAnon,
which claimed that there were nefarious
Democratic actors involved in child-
trafficking rings. A local media outlet,
Arizona Central, described him as "a
fixture at Arizona right-wing political
rallies."

Before his activism, Chansley said he

worked in a group home for troubled
youths and studied religion, philosophy,
psychology and ceramics at Glendale
Community College, according to The
Washington Post.

Sponsor Message

Navy Times said Chansley also served in

the U.S. Navy in his late teens, between
2005 and 2007, as a supply clerk
seaman apprentice. He earned several
accolades during his service, including
the National Defense Service Medal.

More than 1,000 people have been

charged for the Capitol riot — which
caused "the most wide-ranging
investigation" in the history of the
Justice Department. About $2.6 billion
have been allocated to U.S. attorneys, in
part to support the Jan. 6 prosecutions.

u.s. capitol insurrection capitol riot

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