The lawyer for the so-called “QAnon Shaman” who stormed the United States Capitol shirtless and wearing a horned bearskin headdress said his client regrets being “cheated” by former President Donald Trump, and that the former President “invited” his client and thousands of other Capitol supporters on January 6.
Albert Watkins, Jacob Anthony Chansley’s lawyer, did not immediately respond to Fox News’s request for comment on Saturday, but told KSDK-TV that his client “regrets very, very much not only being cheated by the president, but for being in a position where he allowed deception to put him in a position to make decisions he shouldn’t have made. ”
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Watkins argued that Chansley was practically “invited” by Trump to the Capitol to protest the results of the presidential election and encouraged by Trump’s rhetoric to take extreme steps to “Stop Theft”.
“We are going to release the tape. We are going to spend the months of lies, misrepresentations and horrible innuendo and hyperbolic speech by our president, with the aim of inflaming, infuriating and motivating,” Watkins told the media.
“What is really curious is the reality that our president, as a matter of public record, invited these individuals, as president, to come down to the Capitol with him,” he added.
In the hours before the January 6 attack on Capitol Hill, which left five people – including a Capitol police officer – dead, Trump held a “Stop Theft” demonstration, encouraging his supporters to “fight” for the “stolen election.”
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Shortly after, the rebels broke into the Capitol building and interrupted a joint session of Congress to certify the election results for current President Biden.
After the violent event, the FBI opened a massive investigation to arrest participants in the siege.
Chansley is being held in a prison in Arizona, awaiting charges of disorderly conduct, violent entry and illegality in restricted spaces within the Capitol in Washington, DC, according to authorities.
Watkins had already promised former President Trump to forgive Chansley before leaving office.
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Despite granting dozens of pardons to his political allies and even rapper Lil Wayne, Trump has not forgiven anyone who broke into the Capitol earlier this month.
Watkins said he and Chansley were not “holding their breath” for a pardon, but thought that Trump would award one as recognition for the loyalty of his supporters.
“The request was of extraordinary value, as it gave Trump the opportunity to do what his followers believed would be the ‘honorable’ thing to do,” said Watkins.
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“It would be appropriate and honorable for the president to forgive Mr. Chansley and other like-minded peaceful individuals who accepted the president’s invitation with good intentions,” he added.
Chansley’s mother, Marth Chansley, told Fox News that she “has no comments” at the moment.