‘QAnon Shaman’ Reaches Plea Deal in Capitol Riot Case; His Lawyer Says He Doesn’t Want to Be Called ‘QAnon Shaman’ Anymore

Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images.

Jacob Chansley, also known as the “QAnon Shaman,” has entered into a plea deal with prosecutors regarding the charges against him for his alleged actions during the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Chansley’s unusual appearance during the insurrection — shirtless, wearing face paint, a fur hat with large horns, carrying a spear — made him somewhat of an unintentional mascot for the day’s events, with the Getty Images photograph at the top of this article among the many viral images of Chansley inside the Capitol complex.

According to a report by CNN, court records filed by Chansley’s attorney Al Watkins indicate that he will plead guilty on Friday. The terms of the deal are not yet clear, including to which charges he is pleading guilty, and what, if any, term of incarceration he might serve.

Watkins has made numerous colorful comments about his client and the case over the past few months, attempting to paint Chansley as a sympathetic figure.

So far, the court has been unmoved, repeatedly denying Watkins’ requests for his client to be released from custody.

“Defendant characterizes himself as a peaceful person who was welcomed into the Capitol building on January 6th by police officers,” wrote DC District Judge Royce Lamberth in a ruling back in March. “The Court finds none of his many attempts to manipulate the evidence and minimize the seriousness of his actions persuasive.”

Ryan Reilly of the Huffington Post reached out to Watkins for comment on the plea deal, and Watkins replied with a statement saying that Chansley was asking to no longer be referred to as the “QAnon Shaman.”

Chansley, Watkins wrote, was a “long avowed and practicing Shaman,” but he had “repudiated the ‘Q’ previously assigned to him and requests future references to him be devoid of use of the letter ‘Q.'”

Watkins asked for “patience and compassion” for his client, describing Chansley as “non-violent, peaceful and possessed of genuine mental health issues which rendered them more vulnerable to the propaganda of the day but who, at the end of day, [seeks] to be accountable for [his] actions.”