Jacob Chansley, better known as the “QAnon Shaman” who stormed the Capitol on January 6, is now asking for the government to return his signature horned headdress.
“They’re keeping it like it’s evidence,” Chansley told The Daily Beast. “The case is over, so there’s no reason for them to continue holding onto it.”
“It’s rather upsetting that they’re not doing what the government is supposed to do and returning the property,” said Chansley, who has been well-acquainted with the government as of late.
Chansley pleaded guilty to a charge of obstructing a federal proceeding in connection to the Capitol attack, resulting in a 41-month prison sentence in November 2021. But after showing good behaviour, he was transferred to a halfway house in Arizona, meaning he only ended up serving 27 months in prison.
The former fur-covered insurrectionist told the outlet that he had purchased the headdress long before deciding to storm the Capitol: “Dude, I’ve been dressing that way for over 10 years.”
In his sentencing memorandum, Mr Chansley’s then-lawyer described “the images” of his client as becoming “inextricably linked to” the events of the Capitol riot: “they have become to January 6 what the Swoosh is to Nike.”
The former rioter told the outlet that the FBI took the signature headpiece when he turned himself in days after the riot: “I had it with me in the car…They just took it.”
He added, “They gave my mom the car back shortly after the investigation was over, but they refused to give me my headdress and my staff and my phone and my pants,” he said. “So what’s up with that?”
In November, Mr Chansley filed a statement of interest in running for Congress as a Libertarian in his home state of Arizona in 2024.
The Daily Beast asked him whether he plans on wearing the headdress — if he gets it back — on the campaign trail. Mr Chansley said he’s not sure of the reaction it would stir up.
“There’s been mixed emotions about it,” he told the outlet. “People say that I’m not being taken seriously. Other people are like, ‘Oh, I fricking love it!’”
