- QAnon Shaman gets his horns and spear back
The man known as the "QAnon Shaman" during the January 6, 2021 Capitol storming, Jacob Chansley, is getting his horned fur hat and spear back. "Since the authorities haven't proven they still need these items as evidence and haven't requested their retention, the court will grant Mr. Chansley's request," a district court judge in Washington, D.C. ruled on Monday.
The 36-year-old Chansley had filed a lawsuit seeking the return of the items seized by authorities during his arrest in January 2021. According to the court's ruling, the objects to be returned include the "horned coyote tail head covering" and a roughly 1.80-meter-long staff with a metal spear tip.
Horned QAnon Man Becomes Face of Violence
Chansley stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, alongside other supporters of then-President Donald Trump. Images of Chansley with a bare chest full of tattoos, painted face, a fur hat with buffalo horns, and a spear with an American flag went viral. The self-proclaimed "shaman" and adherent of the QAnon conspiracy theory became one of the most recognizable Capitol attackers – and a face of the January 6 violence.
Chansley was sentenced to nearly three and a half years in prison in November 2021 for obstructing an official proceeding. However, he was released early in the spring of 2023. His lawyer had argued that he had long struggled with mental health issues. In November 2023, Chansley announced he would run for the U.S. Congress as a Libertarian Party candidate.
After serving time for his involvement in the January 6 Capitol storming, Jacob Chansley, also known as the "QAnon Shaman," announced his intent to run for the U.S. Congress in 2023 as a Libertarian Party candidate. Despite his previous conviction in the US election-related incident, Chansley's seized items, including the "horned coyote tail head covering" and spear, were ordered to be returned due to lack of evidence retention request by the authorities.
