CAPITOL riot leader ‘QAnon shaman’ planned to capture and assassinate elected officials during the riots, prosecutors allege.
Jake Chansley, who stormed the Capitol last week shirtless with horns on his head, is also accused of leaving a note for Mike Pence which read, “justice is coming”, according to a filing submitted by Justice Department lawyers on Thursday.
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In a video posted on YouTube last week, Chansley – a well-known supporter of the QAnon conspiracy in Arizona – describes himself as a “shaman… like a multi-dimensional or hyper-dimensional being”.
“Strong evidence, including Chansley’s own words and actions at the Capitol, supports that the intent of the Capitol rioters was to capture and assassinate elected officials in the United States Government,” prosecutors allege in the filing.
“Chansley left a note on the Senate Chamber dais, where Vice President Mike Pence had been presiding over the session just minutes before, warning “it’s only a matter of time, justice is coming.”
Chansley, who also uses the last name Angeli, turned himself into the FBI on Saturday. He has since been indicted by a federal grand jury on six counts including violent entry and disorderly conduct in a Capitol, over his involvement in the riots.
“Chansley acted on conspiracy theories he has repeatedly espoused in becoming one of the highest-profile members of a group that attacked a Congressional proceeding, and nothing suggests he has learned from that experience so as to avoid it if on pre-trial release,” the filing reads.
“The nature and circumstances of his offense are grave, and cannot be mitigated by conditions of release.”
The 33-tear-old tested positive for Covid-19 recently and is now being held in quarantine in a federal facility in Phoenix.
Earlier, Chansley, who said he felt he was “answering the call of our president”, begged Donald Trump to pardon him as one of his last presidential acts.
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His lawyer, Albert Watkins described Chansley as a “genuine shaman”, adding that he couldn’t be a “more gentle, soft-spoken human being”.
He claims his client is considered a “long-standing professor of that faith”.
Watkins claimed that Chansley “walked in with the whole crowd that was walking in on the peaceful side of things”.
He said the Shaman didn’t take part in any violent attacks that killed five people and injuries against police officers.
“My client did not shroud his face in secrecy,” Watkins continued.
“He wasn’t wearing a bulletproof vest. My client was not armed. He didn’t have zip ties.
“My client fought – was in the military, served honorably. No criminal background whatsoever.
“And he, like a lot of other disenfranchised people in our country felt very, very, very solidly in sync with President Trump.”
On Monday the shaman declared he was on an “extremely restrictive diet” whilst he was in custody.
The court heard Chansley was refusing to eat in custody because the food was not organic.
The judge presiding over the case, Deborah Fine, described Chansley’s refusal to eat as “deeply concerning” and asked the public defender to work with US Marshals to accommodate the accused‘s dietary demands, according to KNXV-TV.
Chansley, who claims he can travel among dimensions to fight pedophiles, told Newsy last week that he was not worried about charges.
“I’m not really all that worried about it because, in all honesty … I didn’t break any laws. I walked through open doors,” he said.
During his Monday hearing, Chansley did not make any statements regarding the charges against him.
