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He's facing the harshest sentence of all the rioters.
By Isaac Serna-Diez — Written on Nov 10, 2021
In the bizarre trial for QAnon ‘Shaman’ Jacob Chansley, prosecutors are seeking to put him behind bars for over 4 years — or 51 months to be exact.
In a move that is being wildly criticized by right-wing analysts, Chansley himself has written a 23-page sentencing memo that was filed by his lawyer, Albert Watkins, in hopes that the judge would reduce the sentence and go easier on him.
QAnon Shaman Jacob Chansley faces the harshest sentence of the Capitol rioters.
Many believe that the sentencing prosecutors are seeking is far too long and is only being used to set an example for future dissidence.
To start off the sentencing memo, Chansley included a quote from Forrest Gump, reading “‘My momma always said, you’ve got to put the past behind you before you can move on.’ — Forest Gump.”
Not only did he spell the main character and title of the film’s name wrong, but he also used a quote from a movie about a soldier who fought in the U.S. Army and was considered a patriot in his apology for storming the Capitol.
The 51-month sentence is the longest that prosecutors have asked for any guilty defendants from the January 6th riot so far, citing that Chansley was “quite literally, their flagbearer."
The Justice Department has confirmed that its goal is to deter any future attacks, saying that January 6th "has made us all question the safety and security of the country in which we live."
"Those enormous harms,” they continued, “borne out of the acts of this defendant, must be deterred so that we never see a similar assault on our democracy again.”
But many are coming to his defense, believing that he’s not the enemy everyone seems to be making him out to be — going as far as to say he’s a victim of the system and the former president.
This seems to be the defense of many defendants during the Capitol riot trials, including the defense the QAnon icon's lawyer has been outlining.
The QAnon Shaman's lawyer has been defending his client — albeit rather rudely.
“A lot of these defendants — and I’m going to use this colloquial term, perhaps disrespectfully — but they’re all f-----g short-bus people,” Watkins told Talking Points Memo.
“These are people with brain damage, they’re f-----g retarded, they’re on the godd--n spectrum.”
For clarification, Watkins is referring to a slang term for the smaller school buses that generally transport special education students to and from school.
“But they’re our brothers, our sisters, our neighbors, our coworkers — they’re part of our country,” he added.
“These aren’t bad people, they don’t have prior criminal history. F--k, they were subjected to four-plus years of godd--n propaganda the likes of which the world has not seen since f-----g Hitler.”
However, the Trump defense isn’t a defense recognized by the courts, and if anything makes matters worse for the defendant.
After U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth ordered to keep Chansley detained pending trial, the defendant asked to vacate the order and release him, causing Lamberth to defend his order.
“Even taking defendant’s claim at face value, it does not persuade the Court that defendant would not pose a danger to others if released,” Lamberth wrote.
“If defendant truly believes that the only reason he participated in an assault on the U.S. Capitol was to comply with President Trump’s orders, this shows defendant’s inability (or refusal) to exercise his independent judgment and conform his behavior to the law.”
Chansley already pleaded guilty to a felony charge of obstructing Congress' certification of the 2020 vote, paying $2,000 in damages from the destruction at the Capitol.
Since his arrest, he has been held in solitary confinement without bail, where he will stay until his sentencing hearing on November 17th, 2021.
Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Follow him on Twitter here.