Jacob Anthony Chansley, the so-called ‘QAnon Shaman.’ (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Jacob Chansley, the so-called “QAnon Shaman” who became what a federal judge called the “very image” of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, has been moved from prison to a halfway house.
Chanlsey is one of the most memorable figures to emerge from the deadly riot at the Capitol, when former President Donald Trump supporters set siege to the Capitol building as Congress was set to certify Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral win. He was seen standing shirtless behind former Vice President Mike Pence’s Senate dais in a horned, coyote-fur headdress, and red, white and blue face paint, and was also heard yelling and praying as law enforcement tried to clear the chamber.
He was sentenced in November 2021 to more than three years in prison after pleading guilty in September of that year to obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress. He faced a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison on that charge.
U.S. Bureau of Prisons records list Chansley’s current location as RRM Phoenix, a “Residential Reentry Management (RRM) field office.”
Although the BOP doesn’t list the specific facility where Chansley is housed, it is likely he is staying at a nearby Residential Reentry Center (RRC). According to the bureau, RRCs, also known as halfway houses, “provide assistance to inmates who are nearing release.”
Attorney Albert Watkins, who represented Chansley for his plea and sentencing, said he is pleased with the development.
“After serving eleven months in solitary prior to his sentence being imposed, and only 16 months of his sentence thereafter, it is appropriate this gentle and intelligent young man be permitted to move forward with the next stage of what undoubtedly will be a law abiding and enriching life,” attorney Albert Watkins said in a statement. “I applaud the decision of the U.S. Bureau of Prison in this regard.”
The Federal Bureau of Prisons did not immediately respond to Law&Crime’s request for comment.
The Justice Department declined comment.
Law&Crime’s Adam Klasfeld contributed to this report.
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