Report: Arizona Jan. 6 rioter ‘QAnon Shaman’ released from prison

PHOENIX — Jacob Chansley, the Arizona man who breached the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 dressed at the “QAnon Shaman,” has been released from federal prison, his mother told ABC15.

Chansley was sentenced to 41 months in November 2021 after pleading guilty to obstruction an official proceeding.

The sentence was scheduled to end in May 2025, but Chansley’s lawyer, William Shipley, said on Twitter on Thursday that his release to a halfway house in metro Phoenix was “on schedule.”

“I told him the truth, and I told him what would happen,” Shipley said. “We made several decisions after long discussions. He’s exactly where we both expected he would be.”

Chansley, 35, become a symbol of the Jan. 6 Capitol incursion because of his flamboyant appearance – with face paint, bare and tattooed torso and fuzzy hat with horns.

Before he was sentenced, Chansley told U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth it was wrong for him to enter the Capitol and that he accepts responsibility for his actions.

He emphasized he wasn’t an insurrectionist and was troubled with the way he was portrayed in news stories in the aftermath of the riot.

“I have no excuse,” Chansley said. “No excuses whatsoever. My behavior is indefensible.”

The judge said Chansley’s remorse appeared to be genuine but noted the seriousness of his actions in the Capitol.

“What you did was terrible,” Lamberth said. “You made yourself the center of the riot.”

Chansley sought to be sentenced to time served. His former lawyer, Albert Watkins, said his client had longstanding mental health problems that were worsened by being held in solitary confinement due to COVID-19 protocols and was in dire need of mental health treatment.

He was originally indicted on six counts but had five charges dismissed through the plea.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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