The lawyer for an Arizona man who participated in the insurgency at the U.S. Capitol while wearing face paint, shirtless and a furry hat with horns offers to have his client, Jacob Chansley, testify to the upcoming appointment of former President Donald Trump trial of dismissal. Attorney Albert Watkins said it’s important for senators to hear the voice of someone who was incited by Mr. Trump.
Watkins said his client was previously “horribly beaten” by Mr. Trump, but now feels disappointed after Mr. Trump’s refusal to grant a pardon to Chansley and others involved in the insurgency. “He felt the president betrayed him,” Watkins said.
Watkins said he has not spoken to any members of the Senate since announcing his bid for Chansley (also known as Jake Angeli) to testify at trial, which is scheduled to begin the week of Feb. 8.
The words of Trump supporters accused of participating in the riot may end up being used against him in his indictment trial. Chansley and at least four other people facing federal charges stemming from the riot have suggested they take orders from the former president.
Chansley, who calls himself the “Shaman Shaman” and has long been an event at Trump rallies, has yet to file a complaint for allegations of civil unrest, obstruction of an official process, disorderly conduct. in a restricted building, demonstration in a Capitol buildings and other counts. He is scheduled to be tried Friday in Washington.
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Successfully seeking his arrest until trial, prosecutors said Chansley entered the Capitol carrying a U.S. flag attached to a wooden pole topped with a spear and ignoring an officer’s orders to leave. Prosecutors said Chansley entered the Senate chamber with a group of about 25 riot police, took pictures on the podium where Vice President Mike Pence had been, minutes ago, and left a note saying : “It’s only a matter of time. Justice is coming.”
The next day, prosecutors said Chansley called the FBI’s Washington office, admitted his involvement and described Pence as a “child trafficking traitor,” but said he did not intend the note to be a threat. When asked about the meaning of the note, he launched into a “long diatribe” describing current and past lawmakers, including Pence, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden, as “infiltrators involved in various types of malifetes “.
Chansley told investigators he arrived at the Capitol “at the president’s request that all” patriots “come to DC on Jan. 6,” according to court records.
Prosecutors said Chansley is a “self-proclaimed leader” of the QAnon conspiracy theory movement. Images of the shirtless Chansley storming the Capitol with horns, a leather coyote headdress and face paint, carrying a megaphone and a spear, went viral quickly on social media.
Erin Donaghue contributed to this report.