Jacob Chansley, the self-proclaimed “QAnon Shaman,” has been sentenced to 41 months in prison with 36 months of supervised release for his role in the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack. The 34-year-old, who hails from Phoenix, Arizona; was also ordered to pay $100 in restitution.
At his sentencing on Wednesday (Nov. 17), federal Judge Royce Lamberth said Chansley “made himself the image of the riot.”
“For good or bad, he made himself the very image of this whole event,” he added.
Speaking to the judge for over 30 minutes, the horned rioter admitted his actions were “indefensible,” but maintained that he was not a “dangerous criminal,” “insurrectionist” or “domestic terrorist.”
“The hardest part about this is to know that I’m to blame. To have to look in the mirror and know, you really messed up. Royally,” Chansley said, also comparing himself to Jesus Christ and Gandhi.
Chansley pleaded guilty to one felony count of obstruction back in September, which referred to his attempt to block the certification of President Joe Biden’s electoral win. He faced a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, but federal prosecutors instead pushed for a 51-month sentence and three years’ supervised release, which would have been the longest prison term any convicted Capitol rioter has received.
Prosecutors previously decried Chansley as the mob’s literal “flagbearer” as images of him storming the Capitol shirtless, wearing horns and face paint quickly went viral after the deadly attack. That day, Chansley broke into the Senate chamber and wrote, “It’s Only A Matter of Time. Justice Is Coming,” on a piece of paper covering Former Vice President Mike Pence’s desk, investigators said.
“This defendant knew exactly what the rest of the world did not: that a mob of people descended on the Capitol with the express purpose of disrupting the activity of the lawmakers that day. That is not peaceful, that is criminal obstruction,” prosecutors said Wednesday.
Chansley has been incarcerated for nearly 11 months following his January arrest and his attorneys previously asked Judge Lamberth to sentence him to time served. However, even after his sprawling speech, which Lamberth called “remarkable,” the judge said his actions on Jan. 6 were “as horrific as you now concede” and said he could not justify a shorter sentence.
Chansley is one of over 650 people who have been charged for storming the Capitol on Jan. 6. So far, around 120 have pleaded guilty, mostly to misdemeanor crimes.