On January 6th, when the U.S. Capitol was under seize after Donald Trump encouraged his supporters to march there, one character stuck out more than the others. A 33-year-old man known as the “QAnon Shaman” who stormed the Capitol without a shirt on while wearing fur and horns, said recently through his lawyer that he was “duped” by Donald Trump after the former president failed to pardon him. And quite a few of the rioters have placed the blame at Trump’s feet.
The Arizona man’s real name is Jacob A. Chansley, and his lawyer Albert Watkins said in a statement that his client is willing to talk about whether he believed that Trump would accompany protesters to the Capitol as the former president said at the “stop the steal” rally, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Watkins further said that his client would say “whether the words of former President Trump were understood by Mr. Chansley to be nothing short of an invitation to go to the Capitol with the President to fight like hell.”
“Watkins, who has offices in Clayton, had earlier suggested that Trump should pardon Chansley because he was following Trump’s instructions, and then announced that his appeal directly to Trump’s chief of staff had failed to win that pardon,” the outlet reports.
‘In Thursday’s statement, Watkins said, “If the pending Article of Impeachment has merit, the voice of Mr. Chansley, and the voice of others in a like position, must be heard and believed,”‘ the report states.
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Trump’s rally included the president telling his supporters to “stop the steal” of the election, then encouraging them to head to the Capitol to demonstrate against Congress certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. The crowd yelled out: “Fight for Trump! Fight for Trump! Fight for Trump!”
Trump’s Big Lie of widespread voter fraud that doesn’t exist resulted in his supporters’ violent insurrection and earned the former president his second impeachment. Of course, Trump refuses to take any responsibility for one of the darkest days in recent U.S. history. Chansley’s lawyer didn’t say whether his client would wear a tie with his fur and horn outfit at the impeachment hearing or not.
Chansley’s newest charges include civil disorder, obstruction of an official proceeding, disorderly conduct in a restricted building, and demonstrating in a Capitol building.
Featured image via screen capture
