- A man known as “Q Shaman” who broke into the Capitol says he feels “cheated” after Trump did not forgive him.
- Jacob A. Chansley was arrested and charged earlier this month in connection with the Capitol disturbances.
- His lawyer blamed Trump for “motivating” the crowd to march on the Capitol building.
- Visit the Business Insider home page for more stories.
An Arizona far-right conspiracy theorist known as “QAnon Shaman”, who stormed the Capitol in a horned fur headdress, says he feels “cheated” by Trump after the former president didn’t forgive him, his lawyer said .
Jake Angeli, whose real name is Jacob A. Chansley, was arrested and charged earlier this month in connection with the Capitol riots, which resulted in the deaths of five people, including a police officer.
Speaking to the local KSDK television station on Thursday, Chansley’s lawyer, Al Watkins, said his client hoped to be forgiven by Trump, but now he realized he was “cheated”.
“He regrets very, very much, not only for being deceived by the president, but for being in a position where he allowed this fraud to put him in a position to make decisions he shouldn’t have made,” said Watkins, according to Law & Crime.
Read More: The right-wing conspiracy theories that fueled the siege of the Capitol will instigate further violence
“As for my client, the guy with horns and skins, meditation and organic food … I’m saying that we can’t just wave a magic wand and label all these people on the same January 6th,” he added.
Watkins’ comment on organic foods is a reference to a statement made by Chansley’s mother at her first federal court hearing, where she said her son refused to eat while in custody because “he gets very sick if he doesn’t eat organic food. . “
It is not known whether Chansley interrupted his hunger strike or not.
Watkins also appeared to blame Trump for what he said were “months of lies” and “misrepresentations” that were “designed to inflame, enrage and motivate” the crowd on January 6, according to Law & Crime.
Trump told his supporters before the deadly events unfolded that “we will go down and I will be there with you”, with reference to the Capitol building immediately after these observations.
“What is really curious is the reality that our president, as a matter of public record, invited these individuals, as president, to walk to the Capitol with him,” said Watkins.
“We are talking no – not just the guy with the horns and hair, the tattoos and the bare chest – the Shaman – we are talking about thousands of people. They felt – heard – the message to them, from their president was: ‘ let’s walk to the Capitol ‘”, he added.
Chansley, who is from Phoenix, Arizona, served in the United States Navy between 2005 and 2007. Known for wearing red, white and blue face paint and a horned helmet, the veteran became a notable figure in the QAnon conspiracy theory movement .
On the day of the Capitol rebellion, Chansley took pictures on the Senate platform and marched with a megaphone, facing police officers. The FBI was able to identify him by his distinctive tattoos and arrested him three days later.
Angeli told NBC News that she felt she had done nothing wrong after the disturbances.
“I came in through an open door, man,” said Angeli, according to NBC News.
Chansey remains in federal custody in Arizona and is being held in a quarantine section of a detention center. He was accused of disorderly conduct, violent entry and illegally being in restricted spaces within the Capitol.