WASHINGTON: The US Capitol rioter nicknamed the “QAnon Shaman” is disappointed former President Donald Trump did not pardon him, his defense lawyer said on Friday after the man pleaded guilty to taking part in the Jan. 6 unrest.
Jacob Chansley, of Phoenix, Arizona, was photographed inside the Capitol shirtless, wearing a horned headdress and heavily tattooed. He has been held without bond since his arrest shortly after the riot, and on Friday entered a guilty plea to obstructing an official proceeding.
While in detention, Chansley underwent mental examinations and was diagnosed by prison officials with transient schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and anxiety.
Nearly 600 people have been arrested over the attack on the Capitol where Congress was meeting to certify Joe Biden’s November victory over Trump. Earlier Trump had given a fiery speech falsely claiming his defeat was the result of fraud.
While the felony charge Chansley pleaded guilty to carries both a maximum 20-year prison term and a fine of up to $250,000, prosecutor Kimberly Paschall indicated the maximum sentence the government was likely to request would be much shorter.
Chansley had been a supporter of the QAnon conspiracy theory that casts Trump as a savior figure and elite Democrats as a cabal of Satanist pedophiles and cannibals.
Although he did not get a pardon from Trump, Chansley’s defense lawyer Albert Watkins said “there will always be a soft spot” for Trump in Chansley’s heart.
At Friday’s plea hearing, Watkins asked Judge Royce Lamberth to allow Chansley to be released from prison pending a sentencing hearing, scheduled for Nov. 17. The judge said he would consider this request.
Watkins noted that prosecutors had acknowledged Chansley was “not a planner or organizer” of the riot. Watkins later told reporters that Chansley had cooperated with Jan. 6 investigations and informed on a group he saw stealing classified materials from a Senate office.
Capitol rioter ‘QAnon Shaman’ pleads guilty, disappointed Trump didn’t pardon
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Capitol rioter ‘QAnon Shaman’ pleads guilty, disappointed Trump didn’t pardon
- Jacob Chansley, of Phoenix, Arizona, was photographed inside the Capitol shirtless, wearing a horned headdress and heavily tattooed
- Chansley underwent mental examinations and was diagnosed by prison officials with transient schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and anxiety
US begins large military drill with South Korea while waging war in the Middle East
- The allies’ combined exercise comes amid South Korean media speculation that Washington is relocating some assets from South Korea to support fighting against Iran
SEOUL, South Korea: The United States began a large military exercise with South Korea involving thousands of troops Monday while also waging an escalating war in the Middle East.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff has said about 18,000 Korean troops will take part in Freedom Shield, which runs through March 19. US Forces Korea hasn’t confirmed the number of American troops participating in the training in South Korea.
The allies’ combined exercise comes amid South Korean media speculation that Washington is relocating some assets from South Korea to support fighting against Iran.
US Forces Korea said last week it would not comment on specific movements of military assets for security reasons. South Korean officials also declined to comment on the reports that some US Patriot anti-missile systems and other equipment were being moved to the Middle East, but they said there would be no meaningful impact on the allies’ combined defense posture.
Freedom Shield may trigger an irritated response from North Korea, which has long described the allies ‘ joint exercises as invasion rehearsals and used them as a pretext to ramp up its own military demonstrations and weapons tests. The allies say the drills are defensive in nature.
North Korea has suspended all meaningful dialogue with Washington and Seoul following the 2019 collapse of a summit between leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump during his first term. Tensions rose in recent years as Kim used Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a window to accelerate the development of his nuclear arsenal and increase his leverage by aligning militarily with Moscow, which has received thousands of North Korean troops and large weapons shipments to help fuel its warfighting.
The allies’ drills follow a major political conference in Pyongyang last month, where Kim confirmed his hard-line view of “enemy” Seoul but left the door open to talks with Washington, calling on the United States to drop its demand for North Korea’s denuclearization as a precondition for dialogue.
Freedom Shield is one of two annual “command post” exercises conducted by the allies; the other is Ulchi Freedom Shield, held in August. The drills are largely computer-simulated and designed to test the allies’ joint operational capabilities while incorporating evolving war scenarios and security challenges. As usual, the March drill will be accompanied by a field training program, called Warrior Shield, but the number of field exercises during the Freedom Shield period has declined to 22 compared to last year’s 51.
While US and South Korean militaries say field exercises are often spread out throughout the year, there’s speculation that the allies are seeking to tone down the spring drills to create conditions for dialogue with North Korea. Liberal South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has expressed a desire for diplomacy, and some of his top officials have voiced hope that Trump’s expected visit to China in late March or April could possibly create an opening with Pyongyang.
