QAnon Shaman’s lawyer gives bizarre reason why his client shouldn’t be called an ‘insurrectionist’

The lawyer of Jacob Chansley, better known as the “QAnon shaman”, has offered up a bizarre defence of his client after he was sentenced to 41 months in prison for his part in the 6th January US capitol riot.

Speaking after Chansley was sentenced, his attorney Albert Watkins took exception to his client being called an ‘insurrectionist’ - a common term that has become associated with the Trump supporters who stormed the capitol on that fateful day.

Watkins, though, doesn’t appear to be a fan of that word, at least in relation to his client, who became one of the most striking figures pictured on 6th January mostly because of his horned fur hat, painted face and heavily tattooed torso.

Speaking outside the court on Wednesday, Watkins said: “An insurrectionist? Look up the word. Are you gonna follow the guy who’s naked, tattooed, nipples, January, DC, hours outside, with horns, facepaint and fur and say ‘yeah, that’s the guy I want, I’m following him’ - unless you are smoking crack, which you know is not bad on occasion.”

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It is certainly a weird way to talk about your client who has just been sentenced to more than three years in prison but he’s the guy with a law degree.

Back to the more serious stuff and Chansley’s sentence is amongst the largest to have been dished out to those found guilty in association with the riot which left five people dead.

Chansley, who claims to have disavowed Trump and the QAnon conspiracy movement, had already pleaded guilty to one felony count of obstruction and in addition to his sentence was given a further 36 months of supervised release and will have to pay $100 (£74) in compensation.

In court, he said that he had “no excuse” for entering the Capitol building and had been asking himself: “What would Jesus do?” He also oddly likened himself to Mahatma Gandhi by saying: “What if we all judge Gandhi based on that he beat his wife before his spiritual awakening?”