One of the most iconic protesters of the US Capitol invasion on January 6 of this year, Jacob Chansley, the so-called “QAnon Shaman”, was sentenced to 41 months in prison this week. In addition to Chansley, others involved in the attack were identified and punished by the country’s justice system.
The Justice Department has asked Chansley to receive a harsh sentence for setting an example among the Jan. 6 protesters. Prosecutors have branded Chansley a symbol of a barbaric mob.
Photos of him on Capitol Hill went viral due to his bizarre appearance as he led other members through Congress, yelling into a megaphone. “QAnon Shaman” was one of the first 30 protesters to enter the building.
QAnon and Proud Boy are two far-right factions that President Donald Trump has repeatedly refused to condemn during his election campaign last year. QAnon started out as a unique conspiracy theory. But its followers now act more like a virtual cult, intensely worshiping and believing any misinformation the conspiracy community distributes.
More than 660 defendants face charges for the attack on Capitol Hill, in which Trump supporters tried to prevent Congress from certifying Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory. The Republican falsely claimed that he lost because of widespread voter fraud.
Check out what happened to others involved in the Capitol invasion:
Paul Hodgkins
Florida resident Paul Hodgkins, 38, is the first Capitol protester charged with a crime. He pleaded guilty in June to obstructing Congressional proceedings — specifically, the counting of electoral votes, which he helped delay by storming the Senate House on January 6th.
Hodhkins spent about 15 minutes inside the Capitol, wearing a Donald Trump shirt and carrying a former president’s flag.
The sentence is less than the 18 months the Department of Justice has asked for. Hodgkins was seeking parole. He was sentenced to eight months in prison.
Klete Keller
Olympic swimmer Klete Keller pleaded guilty this Wednesday (29) to a felony charge of obstructing the Electoral College procedures in the invasion of the Capitol, in the United States, on January 6 of this year.
In a surprise move, Keller, who won swimming gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2004 Athens Olympics, still plans to cooperate with the Justice Department and potentially testify against other would-be invaders.
The agreement with the swimmer suggests that prosecutors could try to use him as a key player in upcoming trials, counting on his notoriety as an Olympic medalist.
Keller was charged with “intentionally entering or remaining in restricted building or land without legal authority, violent entry and disorderly conduct” on Capitol Hill and “obstruction of law enforcement involved in official duties in civil disorder,” according to documents filed with the District Court of the USA in Washington.
Mark Leffingwell
A former National Guard member who served in Iraq pleaded guilty on Oct. 26 to one count of assaulting a US Capitol officer during the Jan. 6 riot by supporters of then-President Donald Trump.
Mark Leffingwell, 52, was arrested on federal riot charges shortly after the attack, but was released on bail after a brief period of detention.
Leffingwell pleaded guilty to attacking police officer Daniel Amendola during the attack on the headquarters of the US government.
Paul Davis
Paul Davis, a Texas attorney, has resigned from the Goosehead Insurance team after social media posts showed him talking about his role in the attack on the Capitol. In a video, Davis says, “We’re all trying to get into the Capitol to stop this (the vote count).”
In other posts on Facebook’s Stories feature, Davis said he was “manifesting peacefully” all along, and was not actively trying to invade Congress. “I said ‘trying to get into the Capitol’, wanting to express a protest. Not violently,” he wrote.
On Thursday, a Twitter account belonging to the Westlake, Texas-based company, tweeted: “Paul Davis, Associate General Counsel, is no longer employed by Goosehead.”
A CNN The American contacted Goosehead for further comments on the case and was directed to a voicemail message that read: “The Goosehead employee involved on Capitol Hill is no longer employed.”
It is unclear whether Davis left the company or was fired. THE CNN he contacted Davis for comment but received no response.
Enrique Tarrio
Enrique Tarrio, leader of the far-right United States’ Proud Boys, was sentenced in August to five months in prison for burning a plaque in a church’s “Black Lives Matter” campaign against racial violence in December.
The ruling also convicts him of bringing high-capacity rifle ammunition to the capital Washington days before the invasion of the US Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump in January following his defeat in the 2020 elections.
Tarrio, who has led the right-wing extremist organization since 2018, pleaded guilty in July to the two misdemeanors.
Steve Bannon
Steve Bannon, an ally and former adviser to former President Donald Trumo, did not participate in the building invasion, however, he was indicted in contempt of the US Congress for refusing to contribute to the investigations.
Bannon, 67, was charged last week with a lawsuit related to his refusal to appear for a deposition and another related to his refusal to present documents to the House committee investigating the attack on the US Capitol.
Prosecutors do not seek to detain Bannon before the trial. Under conditions approved by the judge, Bannon agreed to check-ins weekly, surrender your passport, notify any out-of-district travel, and seek court approval for travel outside the continental United States.
(*With information from North American CNN)
Reference: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
