(RepublicanNews.org) – The man who many refer to as the “QAnon Shaman” looks set to run for Congress. Jacob Chansley, 35, has not officially announced his candidacy, but he has filed the necessary paperwork should he choose to officially pursue the seat for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District.
In October, the seat’s current Republican occupant, U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko, announced that she would not be seeking reelection. Some may take note of the fact that Chansley’s “statement of interest” was not filed as a Republican or Democrat, but instead as a Libertarian.
Chansley gained an immense amount of notoriety immediately following the events of January 6th after being filmed and photographed in and around the Senate gallery in a shirtless state while wearing a furry, horned helmet. In subsequent interviews, he talked about everything from Christ consciousness to geomagnetic lines of power running below Washington, D.C.’s government buildings.
After his well-publicized trial and confinement in federal prison, a number of outlets reported that Chansley had received the combined diagnoses of bipolar disorder, depression, and schizophrenia. Chansley’s lawyer also maintained that his client had previously been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome.
Both during the events of 2021 and in reports covering his potential candidacy, outlets uniformly described him as having “stormed the Capitol.” A November 13th piece from NBC re-referenced the term yet again, despite footage being released in March that appeared to show Chansley being calmly escorted through the halls of Congress by facility police officers.
Tucker Carlson broadcast the footage while he was still employed at Fox News and described Capitol Police as behaving like they were Chansley’s tour guides. That same month, the federal prisoner was released from custody after serving 27 months of an initial 41-month sentence.
Prosecutors insisted that the footage was misleading and had nothing to do with the judge’s decision to grant Chansley an early release. According to some reports, Chansley has disavowed his one-time QAnon affirmations.
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