'QAnon Shaman' Jacob Chansley hires one of Kyle Rittenhouse's former attorneys to appeal his 41-month prison sentence for taking part in Capitol riot
- Jacob Chansley, 34, has hired one of Kyle Rittenhouse's former attorneys John Pierce, who represented the homicide suspect before the family fired him
- Pierce was relieved of his position on Rittenhouse's defense back in February after raising money on behalf of the teen but not posting his bail
- Rittenhouse trashed Pierce on Tucker Carlson after he was acquitted and said the lawyer kept him jailed to use him for their own cause
- Prosecutors had recommended a 41-month sentence for Chansley as a deterrence to 'future rioters,' the longest prison term from the deadly riot so far
- Chansley has since rejected QAnon beliefs, which are centered on baseless claims that Trump fought Satan-worshipping, child sex-trafficking cannibals
'QAnon Shaman' Jacob Chansley has hired one of Kyle Rittenhouse's former attorneys to appeal his 41-month prison sentence for taking part in the Capitol riot.
Chansley, 34, was sentenced to more than three years - 41 months - in federal prison for his role in the January 6 riot, where he infamously donned a horned fur hat and patriotic face paint while carrying a spear and megaphone as he bore his bare, tattooed torso through the Capitol.
District Judge Royce Lamberth handed Chansley the sentence on November 17, which has since prompted the rioter to hire attorney John Pierce, who was previously employed by 18-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse, who was acquitted of murder earlier this month.
In an interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson last week, the teenager trashed Pierce, claiming he raised money on Rittenhouse's behalf after he was jailed for killing two people and wounding a third in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August 2020.
Rittenhouse said that while the lawyers had raised enough bail money by mid-September, they chose not to post his bail because they wanted to use him for their own cause.
The Rittenhouse family fired Pierce in February. The attorney is representing several Capitol riot defendants.
'QAnon Shaman' Jacob Chansley (left) has hired one of Kyle Rittenhouse's former attorneys John Pierce (right) to appeal his 41-month prison sentence for taking part in the Capitol riot
Prosecutors had recommended a 51-month sentence for Chansley (pictured in court sketch) as a deterrence to 'future rioters'
Chansley's former attorney, Albert Watkins (pictured), denied claims that his ex-client 'personally authorized Mr Pierce to represent him'
Now, Pierce will be working with Chansley to appeal the judge's sentence after the s-called QAnon Shaman pleaded guilty in September to obstructing an official proceeding when he and thousands of supporters of then-President Donald Trump stormed the building in an attempt to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden's election victory.
The Phoenix resident has been jailed since his arrest six months ago, and his defense attorney has now made five separate attempts to have him released.
Pierce filed a notice of appearance in Judge Lamberth's court stating he was going to appeal the sentence the judge gave to Chansley, as reported by Newsweek.
'Chansley will be pursuing all remedies available to him under the Constitution and federal statutory law with respect to the outcome of the criminal prosecution of him by the United States Department of Justice,' the attorney wrote in a press release.
'This includes a possible direct appeal of his conviction and sentence to the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, as well as claims of "Ineffective Assistance of Counsel" in the appropriate venue,' he added.
Pierce was formerly represented by Albert Watkins, who denied claims that Chansley 'personally authorized Mr. Pierce to represent him,' according to Newsweek.
In response, the judge ordered a status conference to take place on November 29, which Pierce and Watkins were both called on to attend, to clarify who was on Chansley's counsel.
Chansley became the face of the failed insurrection when he appeared on the US Senate floor semi-nude, sporting body paint and a horned fur hat (pictured)
Chanlsley was one of thousands of Trump supporters who stormed the US Capitol building on January 6 to stop the certification of President Joe Biden
Newsweek reported that during the hearing, Chansley told the judge that he fired Watkins and brought in Pierce and another lawyer, William Shipley, to look into his options moving forward.
For his sentencing, Chansley appeared in court in a dark green prison jumpsuit, beard and shaved head (pictured)
He also suggested that his new lawyers would file an appeal on his behalf.
Watkins told reporters after the hearing: 'Mr Chansley is an extremely smart man, very intelligent, if not savant-like, and I sincerely wish him all the best in his life.'
Watkins quoted Forrest Gump in his most recent court filing requesting for the fifth time that his client be sentenced to time served.
Watkins' 23-page sentencing memorandum filed on behalf of Chansley on November 9 opened with a line from the 1994 movie starring Tom Hanks: 'My momma always said, you’ve got to put the past behind you before you can move on.'
Watkins typed the film quote in bold and attributed it to the fictional character, but misspelled his name as 'Forest Gump'.
Meanwhile, federal prosecutors filed their own 28-page sentencing memorandum asking Judge Lamberth to sentence Chansley to 51 months behind bars, which would make it the longest prison term stemming from the deadly riot so far.
Chansley was among the wave of rioters who spearheaded the rush into the Capitol while carrying a spear and wrote a note to then-Vice President Mike Pence that said: 'It’s only a matter of time, justice is coming.'
He emerged as the de-facto face of the failed insurrection when he appeared on the US Senate floor semi-nude and has since apologized for his actions, though he also has said he didn’t regret his loyalty to former President Donald Trump.
After his arrest, Chansley has repeatedly made headlines by asking for a presidential pardon from Trump while he was still in office, staging a hunger strike to get organic food in lockup, and agreeing to an unsanctioned jailhouse interview with 60 Minutes.
Chansley is expected to receive credit for the roughly 10 months he has spent in jail, which would reduce his prison sentence to about 31 months.
When given a chance to speak, Chansley launched into a wide-ranging and often rambling speech in which he talked about his feelings of guilt and remorse.
'I admit to the world, I was wrong. I have no excuses. My behavior was indefensible,' he said before insisting that he is not a violent man, a domestic terrorist or a 'white supremacist'.
As part of his impassioned 30-minute-long monologue, Chansley quoted Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Jesus, and the prison break film The Shawshank Redemption.
'The hardest part about this is to know that I'm to blame. To have to look in the mirror and know, you really messed up, royally,' Chansley said.
He said he was wrong to break the law - a decision that landed him in solitary confinement.
'I should do what Gandhi would do and take responsibility,' Chansley added during his lengthy speech before he was sentenced. 'There's no ifs, ands or buts about it, that's what men of honor do.'
While appearing in court in a dark green prison jumpsuit, beard and shaved head he also promised to never have to be jailed again.
Lamberth was seemingly taken aback by the defendant's remarks, which he said were 'akin to the kind of thing Martin Luther King would have said'.
Lamberth added that he believed Chansley had done a lot to convince the court he is 'on the right track' since the image of him holding a flagpole topped with a spear tip and looking as if he were howling was one of the most striking to emerge from the riot.
Chansley previously called himself the 'QAnon Shaman' but has since repudiated the QAnon movement, which is centered on the baseless belief that Trump was fighting a cabal of Satan-worshipping, child sex trafficking cannibals.
Chansley previously called himself the 'QAnon Shaman' but has since repudiated the QAnon movement, which is centered on the baseless belief that Trump was fighting a cabal of Satan-worshipping, child sex trafficking cannibals
Most watched News videos
- Furious Putin is told Ukrainian soldiers have crossed Russian border
- 'Drunk' rioter lobs metal sheeting at cops in Hartlepool
- Before and after: Man's life changed by new Parkinson's treatment
- Moment golden retriever crushes three-year-old girl to death
- Radio station and shopping mall shake during Japan earthquake
- Japan earthquake shakes homes after sparking tsunami warning
- Schoolboy learns his fate for beating up tiny female school aide
- Moment CTSFO police use flashbangs to raid in West Kensington
- Thousands gather for counter-protest against far-right in Belfast
- Moment police arrest Britain's oldest rioter William Morgan
- Rioters torch Spellow library in Liverpool destroying hundred of books
- Huge container ship erupts into fireball while docked in China port