The Prominent Capitol Rioter “QAnon Shaman” Pleads Guilty in Federal Court.

On January 6th 2021, an estimated 10,000 Donald Trump supporters violently stormed the US Capitol building in Washington, D.C., following the former president’s incessant claims of voter fraud with regards to the presidential election that he had lost to Joe Biden, ultimately resulting in five deaths and numerous injuries. Extensive investigation by the FBI into this attack has revealed that a significant proportion of these rioters, including prominent figures from the mob, are supporters of the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory, shedding a light on the dangerous potential of this supposedly peaceful organisation. But what exactly is QAnon?

The fallacious conspiracy theory claims that a cabal of Satanic paedophiles, comprising primarily of Democrats, were plotting against Donald Trump during his time as the president of the USA. This theory gained further traction as Mr. Trump himself began retweeting and mentioning Twitter accounts affiliated with QAnon. Jacob Anthony Chansley (dubbed the “QAnon Shaman”), was one of the most infamous participants of the attack, as circulating images of him in a bearskin headdress and horns, with the American flag painted on his face, almost became representative of the event online. He was arrested on the 9th of January for "knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, and with violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds".

Chansley’s lawyer has claimed in court that the protester was “non-violent, peaceful and possessed of genuine mental health issues”. After being held in custody for 8 months, making multiple requests to be pardoned and released, and refusing to eat food that is not organic, Chansley has denounced both Trump and QAnon, in addition to pleading guilty to obstruction in an official proceeding, making him one of the 36 defendants who have pleaded guilty in court thus far. The federal judge has determined that Jacob Chansley is not to be released from jail, asserting that the defence provided by his lawyer was "so frivolous as to insult the Court's intelligence". He may now face more than 4 years in jail.

Supporters of the QAnon conspiracy and Capitol attack now claim that the defendants charged at the riot have been unjustly targeted, and that the motivations behind these arrests were largely political, which has allegedly resulted in the planning of another large rally in Washington D.C. sometime throughout the month of September. The Washington Metropolitan Police Department has responded to these reported plans by maintaining an “increased presence” around the city throughout the dates of these speculated plans.

• Rose Salib 13F