Lawyer for ‘QAnon Shaman’ Offers New Explanation for His Client’s Behavior

The attorney for Jacob Chansley, also known as the QAnon Shaman, is providing a new explanation for why his client acted the way he did during the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

“For the first time in 2020, or leading up to that election, he felt like there was a politician whose message that he heard was one that he thought was spoken to him,” Al Watkins said.

He added, “He had a fondness for Trump that was not unlike the first love a man may have for a girl, or a girl for a man, or man for a man. The first love always, always maintains a tender and soft spot in the heart of the lover.”

Watkins argued Chansley “was socially isolated because of his mental health issues that rendered him kind of an unwanted youth.”

He explained how social media became Chansley’s “playground” and “through social media he got exposed to a lot of things that resonated with him.”

Watkins continued, “He felt like Trump was picked on like he had been picked on and as a result, he became not only enamored with Trump, he became enamored with the social media community and then, in turn, the community that he interacted with, at one rally after another, over the course of years.”

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On Friday, Chansley pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of the Electoral College proceedings, as IJR reported.

In a Thursday statement, Watkins said, “The path charted by Mr. Chansley since Jan. 6 has been a process, one which has involved pain, depression, solitary confinement, introspection, recognition of mental health vulnerabilities and a coming to grips with the need for more self-work.”

Prosecutors said his sentencing guidelines range from 41 to 51 months behind bars.