Arizona's 'QAnon Shaman' Appears In Federal Court

PHOENIX — Arizona's 'QAnon Shaman', a prominent supporter of President Donald Trump who took part in Wednesday's insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, appeared in court Monday.

A judge scheduled a detention hearing Friday for Jake Chansley, also known as Jake Angeli, who has been jailed on misdemeanor charges since surrendering to authorities over the weekend in Phoenix. He took part in the hearing by phone from a detention facility.

The FBI identified Chansley from images taken during the riot showing his distinctive sleeve tattoos. Chansley was inside the Capitol and on the Senate dais as he carried a U.S. flag on a pole topped with a spear, sporting fur, horns and face paint.

He has been charged with entering a restricted building without lawful authority, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. He has not yet entered a plea.

His court-appointed attorney, Gerald Williams, told the judge that Chansley has been unable to eat since he was arrested Saturday. He said his client has a restricted diet and only eats organic food. Williams said it was unclear whether Chansley's food issues were related to health concerns or religious reasons.

The judge ordered Williams to work with the U.S. Marshals Service to address the issue.

Chansley’s mother, Martha Chansley, told reporters outside the courthouse that her son needs an organic diet, The Arizona Republic reported.

“He gets very sick if he doesn’t eat organic food,” she said. “He needs to eat.”

Chansley is among at least 90 people who have been arrested on charges stemming from Wednesday’s siege on the Capitol, including several from Arizona.

A 31-year-old was arrested and accused violating curfew, and unlawful entry. Another Arizonan, 50, was arrested and accused of the same violations, according to police records. A third, a 44-year-old woman, was arrested and accused of simple assault.

An investigator said in court records that Chansley called the FBI in Washington the day after the riot, telling investigators that he came to the nation’s capital “at the request of the president that all ‘patriots’ come to D.C. on January 6, 2021.”

Chansley has long been a fixture at Trump rallies and was a fixture outside of the Maricopa County vote counting center following the Nov. 3 election. He is a follower of QAnon, the conspiracy theory that believes Trump is ridding the world of sex-trafficking occurring in high levels of government.

Rioters violently clashed with officers as they forced their way in the Capitol to try to stop Congress from certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.

A police officer who was hit in the head with a fire extinguisher later died, and a woman was fatally shot by an officer as she tried climbing through the broken window of a barricaded doorway inside the Capitol. Three others died in medical emergencies.

The Associated Press contributed to this reporting.