Senator Lindsey Graham (RS.C.) warned against allowing “QAnon Shaman” Jacob Chansley to testify in former President Donald Trump’s second unprecedented impeachment trial.
Chansley, also known as Jake Angeli, faces several charges for his participation in the insurrection that the impeachment article alleges that the former president incited on January 6. Although Graham denounced the House for impeaching Trump on January 13 without calling a witness, on Friday the senator said allowing witnesses at the Senate trial could lead to a long “circus” with testimony from people like Chansley.
“I can’t think of a better way to turn the impeachment trial into a complete circus than calling QAnon Shaman as a witness to anything,” Graham wrote on Twitter. “The House has accused President Trump without a witness. If we open the door of witnesses in the Senate, many witnesses will be asked on a variety of topics. And the trial will last for months, not days.”
Chansley was the subject of photos that quickly went viral after the Capitol was violently violated by pro-Trump rioters. The shirtless “shaman” was photographed wearing a memorable outfit that included a furry hat with horns and patriotic face paint.
Although Chansley was a devoted follower of Trump and is closely associated with the elaborate and false pro-Trump conspiracy theory QAnon, he has changed course since he was arrested and now says he is willing to testify against the former president.
Robert Nickelsberg / Getty
Albert Watkins, Chansley’s defense lawyer, said his client came to believe he was “made a fool of” by Trump during a telephone interview on Friday with Newsweek, while insisting that an impeachment trial without Chansley would be more like a “circus” than one with him.
“He came to the conclusion and was alerted to the fact that what happened is that, instead of being the patriot who is trying to help his president save his country, he was made a fool of,” said Watkins. “If there is going to be anything more than a circus procedure with clowns doing somersaults during the impeachment process, someone who has been incited will have to testify.”
Prior to Trump’s departure from the White House on January 20, Watkins urged the former president to grant total forgiveness to Chansley and others who had been “peaceful and accommodating” during the riots, which he said came “at the invitation of a president . “
The violent violation, with protesters who indicated that they believed Trump’s false allegations of mass electoral fraud while Congress met to certify the victory of President Joe Biden’s Electoral College, resulted in the death of five people. Chansley is not accused of being directly responsible for any of the deaths.
Newsweek contacted Graham’s office for comment.