Topline
A federal judge ruled Monday the Jan. 6 rioter known as the “QAnon Shaman” will be able to have back the Viking helmet and spear he wore the day of the Capitol insurrection, though he has already been sentenced to over three years in prison for his role in the riots.
The so-called QAnon Shaman will have his iconic horned helmet and spear returned, after he was … [+]
Key Facts
Jacob Chansley—whose picture in red, white and blue face paint, a pelted and horned Viking helmet, spear and American flag became a symbol of the riots—had requested in May that the federal government return his helmet and spear, which had been confiscated during his arrest on Jan. 6, 2021.
While the Department of Justice initially argued the items should remain in U.S. custody, that decision was overturned when federal Judge Royce Lambert sided with Chansley, ordering the federal government to return the components of his “unmistakable outfit.”
In his ruling, Lambert said the government “has failed to establish that it still needs Mr. Chansley’s property as evidence.”
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Key Background
Chansley pleaded guilty in September 2021 to one count of obstruction of an official proceeding for his role in disrupting the official congressional certification of former President Donald Trump’s loss to President Joe Biden in the 2020 election (he was one of over 330 defendants charged with obstruction, influencing or impending an official proceeding after the Jan. 6 riots). Chansley—who has publicly embraced conspiracy theory QAnon—was a vocal member of the crowd at the riots, seen chanting after breaking into the Senate gallery, and leaving a note to former Vice President Mike Pence that read: “It’s Only A Matter Of Time. Justice Is Coming!” In November 2021, he was sentenced to 41 months in prison, three years of supervised release and a $2,000 fine. His appeal of the sentence was later dismissed by a Washington D.C.-based circuit court. He was released early from federal prison in March 2023.
Surprising Fact
Chansley filed paperwork last November to run as a Libertarian for a House seat representing Arizona’s 8th Congressional District. That seat is held by retiring GOP Rep. Debbie Lesko, while Trump-allied Republican candidate Abe Hamadeh defeated 2022 Senate candidate Blake Masters in the primary, and now faces Democrat Gregory Whitten in the November election.
Further Reading
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