The shirtless hooligan who was photographed storming the United States Capitol in a horn and skin suit told the FBI that he came to Washington DC on Wednesday “at the request of the president.”
Jake Angeli, 32, of Arizona, whose real name is Jacob Anthony Chansley, was arrested on Saturday and accused of “intentionally entering or staying in any restricted building or land without legal authority, and with violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol Hill”, of according to the Department of Justice.
An arrest statement from the Capitol Police shows that Chansley called the Washington Field Office for the FBI on January 7, the day after the riots, and “voluntarily” confirmed to officers that he was the “man with face paint and headdress. vice president’s seat in the Senate. “
Chansley, who was among the crowd that stormed the Capitol while lawmakers met to formally certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election, said he “came as part of a group effort, with other ‘patriots’ of Arizona at the request of the president, “according to the document.
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Newsweek contacted the White House for comment.
Chansley became a prominent figure in the incident after he was photographed inside the shirtless chambers, wearing face-painted horns in the colors of the American flag and covered in tattoos. He now faces federal charges in connection with the incident.
After the police protected the building and removed the protesters, several supporters of President Donald Trump began to spread a false narrative, claiming that the Capitol had been violated by members of Antifa. “Some of the people who violated Capitol today were not Trump supporters,” Florida Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz said in the House. “They were masquerading as supporters of Trump and were actually members of the violent terrorist group Antifa.”
Chanley accessed Twitter and insisted that he was not part of the Black Lives Matter or Antifa movements. “I’m a Qanon and digital soldier,” he tweeted. “My name is Jake and I marched with the police and fought BLM and ANTIFA in PHX.”
Adam Johnson, 36, from Florida and Derrick Evans, 35, from West Virginia, were also charged in federal court in connection with the Capitol riots, the Justice Department confirmed on Saturday.
Johnson, who was photographed carrying Mayor Pulpit Nancy Pelosi’s pulpit across the Capitol, was arrested on Friday and accused of intentionally entering or staying in a restricted building or land without legal authority; an accusation of theft of government property; and an accusation of violent entry and disorderly conduct on the Capitol grounds. He is currently in custody.
Evans, a new member of the West Virginia House of Delegates who broadcast live attacking the Capitol, was taken into custody on Friday and accused of intentionally entering or staying in any restricted building or land without legal authority; and an accusation of violent entry and disorderly conduct on the Capitol grounds.
In his live broadcast, Evans could be heard shouting, “We’re in, we’re in! Derrick Evans is on the Capitol!” On Saturday, Evans announced his resignation as a delegate.