The 'QAnon Shaman' says invading the Capitol was 'not an attack on this country' in wild jailhouse interview
- Jacob Chansley told CBS News he doesn't think the January 6 Capitol riot was "an attack" on the US.
- He was charged with invading the Capitol building, where, in horns and fur, he clashed with police.
- The "QAnon Shaman" also said he still believes the 2020 election was rigged and supports Trump.
Jacob Chansley, the self-styled "QAnon Shaman" charged with storming the Capitol building on January 6, told CBS News that he didn't consider his participation in the insurrection an attack on the United States.
"My actions were not an attack on this country. That is incorrect. That is inaccurate, entirely," Chansley said in a jailhouse interview with "60 Minutes."
Chansley is currently jailed in Washington, DC, facing six charges related to his participation in the riot. Video footage, photographs, FBI testimony, and court documentation reviewed by Insider all say that he was among the first people to breach the Capitol building on January 6, clashed with Capitol police officers, went into the Senate chamber, and left a note on then-Vice President Mike Pence's dais saying "it's only a matter of time, justice is coming." Chansley later told FBI agents that Pence was "a child-trafficking traitor," referring to the QAnon conspiracy theory.
Chansley, who also goes by Jake Angeli, was one of the most visible members of the riot because of his tricked-out outfit comprising horns, fur pelts, and face paint. He says he's a true adherent of Shamanism, and his lawyer has argued that he should have an organic diet while in jail in compliance with those beliefs.
In his interview with CBS News, Chansley said he brought some of his practices into the Senate chamber and stopped someone from stealing muffins.
"I sang a song. And that's a part of shamanism. It's about creating positive vibrations in a sacred chamber. I also stopped people from stealing and vandalizing that sacred space, the Senate," he said. "I actually stopped somebody from stealing muffins out of the break room. And I also said a prayer in that sacred chamber. Because it was my intention to bring divinity, and to bring God back into the Senate."
Chansley said that while he regrets entering the Capitol, he still supports Trump. CBS News reported that he still believes the conspiracy theory that the 2020 election was rigged.
"It disappointed me so greatly that I and others did not get a pardon," Chansley told CBS' Laurie Segall.
A judge will hear arguments Friday over whether Chansley should remain in jail ahead of his trial. Prosecutors say Chansley's lack of remorse and continued adherence to extremist conspiracy theories demonstrate that he's "a danger" if he were to be released.
"The fact that the defendant was willing to participate in the actions of a mob which sought to subvert the will of the people in a free and fair election is proof that he cannot be trusted to refrain from violently promoting his political ends in the future," prosecutors wrote. "And his willingness now to pass the buck to others when the evidence of his wrongdoing is so strong, evinces with certainty the fact that he cannot be trusted to remain in the community. He is a danger and must remain detained."