Jake Chansley, the far-right conspiracy theorist and Capitol rioter who was pardoned by President Donald Trump on Monday, plans to buy some guns to celebrate.
Chansley, who received one of the longest prison sentences of any Jan 6. rioter, wrote “I got a pardon baby! Thank you President Trump!”, in a post on X.
“Now I am gonna buy some motha f*kin guns!!!” he continued.
Anyone who has been convicted of a felony, like Chansley, is banned under federal law from possessing “any firearm or ammunition,“ but Trump’s presidential pardon removes this ban and restores Chansley’s right to buy arms.
Nicknamed the QAnon Shaman, he became one of the most publicly recognised figures of the riots after breaking into the Senate while wearing red, white and blue face paint, a fur headdress with bison horns, and carrying a six-foot long spear.
Described as “the most prominent symbol of a violent insurrection” by prosecutors, he was sentenced to a 41-month prison term in November 2021 after pleading guilty to charges of obstructing an official proceeding.
During the riot he was photographed standing on then-Vice President Mike Pence’s chair in the Senate, leaving a note on his desk which said, “It’s only a matter of time, justice is coming.”
He secured early release from prison in March 2023 and was transferred to a halfway house, from which he was released in May 2023.
In an interview with The Atlantic after his release, Chansley said he took part in the Capitol riots because it was his “shamanic duty,” citing a long list of events linked to conspiracy theories.
Prosecutors said Chansley believed he is an alien.
Chansley initially expressed some regret over his actions at the Capitol, but later changed his mind and said in July 2023 that he wanted to go back to court to get his guilty plea reversed.
Trump’s pardon means that is no longer necessary.
