Capitol rioter Jacob Chansley, often referred to as the “QAnon Shaman” and/or Jake Angeli, has been sentenced to 41 months behind bars.
A federal judge handed down the prison sentence on Wednesday, per Reuters, with Chansley’s attorneys pushing for a sentence of time served. As revealed earlier this month, prosecutors originally asked for 34-year-old Chansley to receive a sentence of more than four years, marking what was reported at the time to be the strongest sentencing recommendation yet in connection with the fatal Jan. 6 riot.
In comments to U.S. District Court Judge Royce C. Lamberth on Wednesday, per a separate report from the Huffington Post, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Paschall pushed back against any assertion that Chansley had been “peaceful” during his participation in the riot. As an example, Paschall pointed to a threatening letter from Chansley that was placed on Mike Pence’s desk.
Chansley, of Arizona, was charged on Jan. 9 with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, as well as with with violent entry and disorderly conduct. That same day, he was taken into custody. Months later, Chansley pleaded guilty to a felony charge of obstruction of an official proceeding.
The riot itself, of course, was preceded by false claims from Donald Trump and his supporters regarding the 2020 presidential election. The former Apprentice host, who lost the election, was heard in recently shared audio defending riot chants targeting Pence.
“It’s common sense that you’re supposed to protect. How can you—if you know a vote is fraudulent, right? How can you pass on a fraudulent vote to Congress? How can you do that?” Trump told ABC News’ Jonathan Karl in an interview conducted in March of this year, an excerpt of which was released this month. At the time of his comments, the ex-POTUS was responding to Karl having noted the use of “hang Mike Pence” chants by his supporters.
