Lawyer For AZ 'QAnon Shaman' Wants Trump To Pardon His Client

PHOENIX — A lawyer for Phoenix native Jacob Chansley, one of the most recognizable people charged in connection with the U.S. Capitol riots, called on President Donald Trump to pardon his client.

Albert Watkins — a St. Louis lawyer retained by Chansley, who is also known as the "QAnon Shaman" — floated the pardon idea in several interviews Thursday. Watkins said Trump should do the "honorable" thing by helping those who believed they were acting in Trump's interest on Jan. 6.

"They weren't criminals, but they ended up doing something now that is criminal because they were so enamored with and so committed to being, being there for our president," Watkins told "Arizona's Family."

Officials charged Jake Chansley, 33 — who sometimes goes by Jake Angeli — with civil disorder, obstruction of an official proceeding, disorderly conduct in a restricted building and demonstrating in a Capitol building, according to an indictment. He was previously charged with two misdemeanors stemming from the violent riot: entering a restricted building without lawful authority and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

Chansley, identified by the FBI by his distinctive horned helmet, fur cape and shaman tattoos, is set for a detention hearing Friday.

Watkins repeated his argument to CNN anchor Chris Cuomo Thursday night but said he realizes a pardon is unlikely. But “with Trump, you never know,” Watkins said. “He may say, ‘I want the guy with the horns.’ Next thing you know, maybe he’s represented by the shaman instead of Rudy Giuliani.”

An investigator said 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 Jan. 6, 2021."

Trump, in a speech just before chaos broke out, told his supporters to "fight like hell" and "show strength" in expressing their displeasure with the results of the Nov. 3 election.

Chansley, a devotee of Trump and the QAnon conspiracy theory, has been a fixture at Phoenix rallies over the last year. He is among at least 90 people who have been arrested on charges stemming from Wednesday's siege on the Capitol, including several from Arizona.

In a Thursday filing, prosecutors said Chansley was as “an active participant in” and “the most prominent symbol of” the insurrection.