Jacob Chansley—the infamous self-proclaimed "QAnon Shaman" who made headlines worldwide after he was photographed wearing a horned fur headdress and war paint in red, white, and blue while carrying a spear as he participated in the storming of the United States Capitol—now claims he was simply trying to "calm the crowd" during the attack.
Speaking to Inside Edition from behind bars in Oklahoma—where he is serving a 41-month prison sentence—Chansley said he regrets "not working to ensure that there was far more peace on that day."
You can hear what he said in the video below.
Chansley suggested he did not know what would happen when a mob of former President Donald Trump's supporters—spurred by his lies the 2020 general election had been stolen from him and his call for them to march to the Capitol—attacked the Capitol with the intention of stopping the electoral certification of President Joe Biden's win.
He said:
“In retrospect, one thing I can say that I regret is not working to ensure that there was far more peace on that day."
"Had I known what was going to happen, I would have stepped in before any barricades were breached. I actually tried to, on more than one occasion, calm the crowd. But it didn't work."
Chansley blamed the media for making him the public "face" of the attack. His mother—who previously referred to her son as a "patriot"—claimed former President Trump invited everyone to go to the Capitol and stressed she is passionate "about how wrong I think it is that he [Chansley] is even doing any time at all."
Many criticized Chansley for continuing to downplay and lie about the role he played during the attack.
The anatomy of a Trump voter.https://www.rawstory.com/qanon-shaman-2656251828/\u00a0\u2026— Tea Pain (@Tea Pain) 1641576155
The QAnon Shaman prison interview.\n\nThoughts:\n\n1. We were wrong when we decided to do away with mental institutions.\n\n2. We were REALLY wrong when we decided to trust that people will take their meds.\n https://boingboing.net/2022/01/06/in-prison-interview-qanon-shaman-shares-paranoid-fantasies-about-the-deep-states-two-tiered-slavery-system.html\u00a0\u2026 #SmartNews— Hotel Sierra Two Seven (@Hotel Sierra Two Seven) 1641567136
The dregs of society on both sides of the microphone.https://twitter.com/TeaPainUSA/status/1479503745033584642\u00a0\u2026— Toad Ya \ud83c\udf31\ud83d\udee3 (@Toad Ya \ud83c\udf31\ud83d\udee3) 1641576292
\u201cI actually tried to, on more than one occasion, calm the crowd, But it just didn\u2019t work.\u201d\n\nClaims Jacob Chansley, the white farshee screaming \u201cQAnon Shaman,\u201d the 1/6 Insurrectionist who got to transfer jails because he didn't like the food where he washttps://www.huffpost.com/entry/qanon-shaman-riot-claim_n_61d68fd2e4b061afe3aedb25?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter\u00a0\u2026— Karen (@Karen) 1641464260
He should get a sentence enhancement for saying this.https://new.deepleftfield.info/qanon-shaman-now-claims-he-was-merely-trying-to-calm-the-crowd-on-january-6/\u00a0\u2026— Andrew Bradford (@Andrew Bradford) 1641491310
BS BIG TIME\nJacob Chansley, the convicted Jan. 6 rioter also known as the \u201cQAnon Shaman,\u201d now claims he was just trying to help during the insurrection.\n\n\u201cI actually tried to, on more than one occasion, calm the crowd,\u201d he told \u201cInside Edition.\u201d \u201cBut it just didn\u2019t work.\u201d— NastyPaulette@Paulette (@NastyPaulette@Paulette) 1641469205
'QAnon Shaman,' Who Carried Spear and Howled Amid Capitol Assault, Says He Tried Unsuccessfully to Calm Crowd #NewsBreak\u2026.3yrs/ 5 Months/What a Joke/I WISH MY BLACK ASS WOULD STILL BE ALIVE /AFTER STORMIN THE CAPITOL OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICAhttps://www.newsbreakapp.com/n/0ddsCGQv?pd=02tXVsiJ⟨=en_US&s=i2\u00a0\u2026— stella durgin (@stella durgin) 1641434318
"His mother said he shouldn\u2019t be in prison because Trump invited the protesters to the Capitol."\n\nHe should be in prison. And so should Trump.https://twitter.com/HuffPost/status/1479023264932548610\u00a0\u2026— Brownpants \ud83e\ude72 (@Brownpants \ud83e\ude72) 1641461887
Never getting over the fact that there are only 4 degrees of separation between me and this imbecile.https://twitter.com/huffpost/status/1479023264932548610\u00a0\u2026— J. \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83c\udff4\ud83c\udf39\ud83d\udd4aThey/He\u26a3 (@J. \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83c\udff4\ud83c\udf39\ud83d\udd4aThey/He\u26a3) 1641463398
Chansley also used the one-year anniversay of the Capitol attack to share a new conspiracy theory.
In a separate interview with QAnon conspiracy theorist Ann Vendersteel, he claimed there is “a breakaway civilization” underground where military bases are developing technology “several hundred years” more advanced than what exists on the surface.
Chansley was arrested last year on federal charges of "knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, and with violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds."
He was sentenced to a 41-month prison term in November 2021. The Department of Justice had requested a 51-month sentence.
