‘QAnon shaman’ Jacob Chansley plans to run for congress
Jacob Chansley is running for Congress (Brent Stirton/Getty Images)
Jacob Chansley – a Capitol rioter who became the most recognisable face of the 6 January, 2021 insurrection – is running for Congress.
As the events of the attack on the Capitol unfolded, pictures of Chansley shirtless, wearing a horned fur headdress and welding a spear with the US flag attached were beamed around the world and quickly made him infamous as the ‘QAnon Shaman’.
Paperwork available to view online shows Chansley filed a statement of interest on Thursday (9 November) for Arizona’s eighth congressional district under the name Jacob Angeli-Chansley, with the intension to run as a Libertarian.
The district’s current representative. Republican Debbie Lesko, announced last month that she will not be running again.
Following the events of the attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters, Chansley pleaded guilty to one count of felony obstruction of an official proceeding.
He was sentenced to 41 months in prison but served just 27 months before he was moved to a halfway house in Phoenix.
During his court case, prosecutors described him as “public face of the Capitol riot” and said he was one of those who worked “to rile up the crowd and demand that lawmakers be brought out” to face their wrath.
At his sentencing hearing, however, Chansley said he was “wrong” for entering the Capitol and his behaviour was “indefensible”.
“I have no excuse. No excuse whatsoever,” he told the judge.
As of the publication of this article, there have been more than 1,100 charges level in relation to the events of the Capitol riots, including charges handed to ex-president Donald Trump.
