PHOENIX — Jacob Chansley, who may be better known as the “QAnon Shaman,” has filed a statement of interest to run for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District in Congress.
Chansley stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 and pleaded guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding. He was originally sentenced in Nov. 2021 to 41 months in prison for his role in the Insurrection. He instead served about 27 months before being transferred to Phoenix in March 2023.
Chansley was described by prosecutors in his Jan. 6 trial as “the public face of the Capitol riot.” He stood out from the rioters who stormed the Capitol, shirtless with a horned headdress at the dais where Vice President Pence had been presiding at the certification of the 2020 election.
As a felony convict, Chansley can run but not vote in the election.
I think the logic is so politicians can’t just slap someone with a charge in a kangaroo court to block them from running as opposition.
Given how fucked up the
justicepunishment system is in this country, I can’t say I don’t agree with it, even if I hate it in situations like this.And that logic somehow doesn’t apply to the right to vote, which should never be removed ever.