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The so-called “Qanon Shaman” has been sentenced to almost three and a half years in prison for his role in the January 6 Capitol Insurrection.
Jacob Chansley became known as the Shaman for the horned headdress he wore as he stormed the Capitol building with hundreds of others, in an attempt to overturn former President Donald Trump’s election defeat.
Prosecutors had asked for a 51-month sentence, but the judge said he believed Chansley, who pleaded guilty, had done “a lot” to prove he was “on the right track” and instead gave him 41 months behind bars.
Chansley pleaded guilty in September to obstructing an official proceeding. The rioters had tried to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s election.
Last week, Judge Royce Lamberth imposed the same sentence on a former mixed martial artist who was filmed punching a police officer during the violence.
The 41-month prison terms are the stiffest sentences handed down in any of the roughly 675 riot prosecutions resulting from the riots.
Chansley’s attorney asked the judge for a sentence of time served for his client, who has been detained since his January arrest.
“The hardest part of this is that I know I am to blame,” Chansley said in a lengthy statement before he was sentenced, describing a difficult childhood and saying he had taken responsibility for his behavior.
“I thought I was going to get 20 years solitary confinement,” he said.
