‘QAnon Shaman’ to plead guilty in US Capitol riot case
By Marshall Cohen and Paul LeBlanc, CNN
US Capitol riot defendant and so-called “QAnon Shaman” Jacob Chansley, who went viral for wearing a horned bearskin outfit during the attack, is set to plead guilty on Friday, according to court records.
Chansley has been charged with six federal crimes in connection with the January 6 insurrection, including felonies for civil disorder and obstructing congressional proceedings. The court docket doesn’t indicate to which charges Chansley is expected to plead guilty. His attorney Al Watkins declined to say.
“The path charted by Mr. Chansley since January 6 has been 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 said in a statement.
Chansley’s defense attorneys have pushed several times for his release from jail, where he has been held since his arrest in January. The judge in his case has repeatedly ruled that Chansley is too dangerous for release.
“Defendant characterizes himself as a peaceful person who was welcomed into the Capitol building on January 6th by police officers. The Court finds none of his many attempts to manipulate the evidence and minimize the seriousness of his actions persuasive,” DC District Judge Royce Lamberth wrote in March.
A well-known figure in the QAnon conspiracy community, Chansley was one of many QAnon believers who have been charged in the Capitol riot. Watkins said Thursday that Chansley is now “seeking, as part of his reconciliation of where he is today, to step away and distance himself from the Q vortex.”
Earlier this week, the Justice Department secured its 50th guilty plea in the insurrection.
Nearly 600 people from 44 states and Washington, DC, have been charged in federal court, according to CNN’s latest tally, with authorities announcing new arrests on a near-daily basis.
Prosecutors are working to resolve many of the lower-level cases, and most of the 50 guilty pleas are for nonviolent rioters.
Meanwhile, cases are progressing against defendants who allegedly attacked police or are members of right-wing extremist groups, like the Proud Boys.
This story has been updated with additional information Thursday.
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CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz and Olanma Mang contributed to this report.
