THE SELF-PROCLAIMED “QAnon Shaman” who emerged as something of a poster boy for the Capitol riot in the US has defended his actions that day.
Jacob Chansley became infamous among those present in Washington DC thanks to his face paint and furry horned hat, which he donned while shirtless and brandishing an American flag and megaphone.
One of several rioters rounded up by police in the days following the violence that left five people dead, Chansley is now facing up to 20 years in prison.
However, while he accepts his actions were wrong, he does not consider them to be an attack on the nation and used an interview with 60 Minutes to defend what he did that day.
Speaking to CBS News from inside a prison, Chansley sought to clarify his involvement that day.
“I sang a song, and that’s a part of shamanism, it’s about creating positive vibrations in a sacred chamber,” he said.
“I also stopped people from stealing and vandalizing that sacred space, the Senate. I actually stopped people from stealing muffins out of the break room.”
Chansley is facing a raft of charges. Not only was he one of those to storm the Capitol building, he also stands accused of leaving a threatening note for Vice President Mike Pence at his desk in the Senate chamber that read: “It’s only a matter of time, justice is coming.”
In addition to that, he was photographed carrying a spear attached to a flagpole with prosecutors arguing that it should be considered a weapon.
Despite this, Chansley struggled to see what he did wrong.
He told CBS: “I also said a prayer in that sacred chamber because it was my intention to bring divinity and to bring God back into the Senate.”
Though he expressed “very serious regret” at entering the chamber – an action which, in itself, is illegal – he had hoped former President Donald Trump would grant him a pardon.
“I developed a lot of sympathy for Donald Trump because it seemed like the media was picking on him,” he said. “I have been a victim of that all my life, whether it be at school or at home, so in many ways, I identified with a lot of the negative things he was going through.”
The fact that Trump didn’t offer a pardon has left Chansley “wounded” and while he has no regrets about supporting the former President, he said regrets entering the Capitol building “with every fiber” of his being claiming he was trying to “bring divinity and to bring God back into the Senate.”
He ended his interview by shouting “SEE ME! SEE ME!” adding that he’s not a violent man.
Broadcast last week, the interview has done little to help Chansley’s case with U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth criticising the QAnon Shaman’s lawyer Al Watkins for arranging the interview.
