( NYPost )
The “QAnon Shaman” — who became notorious by storming the US Capitol shirtless in a horned coyote-fur headdress on Jan. 6, 2021 — has been released from prison 14 months early and moved to a halfway house in Phoenix, Ariz., prison officials said Thursday.
Jacob Chansley, 35, who became the poster boy of the Capitol riot, had been sentenced to 3 1/2 years in federal prison but served just over 2 years, according to the federal Bureau of Prisons.
“It is appropriate this gentle and intelligent young man be permitted to move forward with the next stage of what undoubtedly will be a law abiding and enriching life,”
Chansley’sformer lawyer Albert Watkins told Lawandcrime.com
“I applaud the decision of the US Bureau of Prison in this regard,” he said in a statement.
Chansley, of Phoenix, pleaded guilty to to civil disorder and violent entry to the Capitol in September 2021.
His release comes just weeks after new video evidence emerged showing Capitol cops escorting Chansley down the halls of the building and through the doors of the US Senate, prompting Watkins to demand his onetime client be freed. The footage drew skepticism about whether “The Shaman” was in fact ever violent during his entry of the Capital — though it was not clear what led to his early release, and Watkins didn’t immediately return The Post’s request for comment.
Chansley, who suffers from mental health problems, served 11 months in solitary confinement during his prison stint, according to Watkins.
He is now living in a Residential Reentry Center in Phoenix, according to BOP records.
Chansley was among the first rioters to enter the Capitol with fellow supporters of former President Donald Trump. He left a menacing note on Vice President Mike Pence’s Senate desk declaring, “Justice is coming,” according to prosecutors.
He has since said he no longer supports Trump.
In May 2021, he was ordered by a judge to undergo a psychological evaluation, and has said he believes he’s “directly related to Jesus and Buddha,” Watkins said at the time.A BOP spokesperson didn’t immediately return an inquiry from The Post Thursday.