Mother of 'QAnon Shaman' torches prosecution after videos released
Martha Chansley and her attorney sound off on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight' after new images come to light.
The mother of the "QAnon Shaman" arrested in connection with the January 6 Capitol riot proclaimed her son's innocence after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., shared videotape with "Tucker Carlson Tonight" from that day – some of which shows Jacob Chansley walking through the Capitol unimpeded by law enforcement.
"What has it been like – that is an awful thing to say, it is horrible," Martha Chansley told "Tucker Carlson Tonight."
When asked how she feels to know the United States government and President Biden's administration "hid evidence" that may be considered exculpatory in his case, wherein he was charged with several crimes including civil disorder, obstruction of a proceeding, violent entry, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and parading, Chansley said it is very "upsetting."
"It should have come out two years ago. That [video] should have come out two years ago. He's he's an innocent man. Everything that [Jacob] said that he did is true -- That he walked through open doors. He was escorted through the halls of the Senate."
EX-LAWYER FOR QANON SHAMAN SAYS JAN 6 FOOTAGEWASNT SHOWN TO CLIENT
Jacob Anthony Chansley, of Arizona ((AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta))
Jacob Chansley, who famously went shirtless and donned face paint and a horned hat while carrying an American flag on the day Congress certified President Biden's election victory, was portrayed as the leader of pro-Trump rioters who violently attacked Capitol Police officers and defaced the Capitol Building.
Chansley said her son was peaceably escorted by law enforcement in part because he had offered to help them after witnessing others inside the building.
Jacob Chansley was ultimately sentenced to 41 months, or about 3 and a half years, in prison, according to documents from the District of Columbia U.S. Attorney's office.
The Chansleys' new attorney, William Shipley, criticized former counsel Albert Watkins – who appeared with Carlson earlier this week-- saying that the defendant did not have a lot of post-conviction options.
"The plea agreement that Albert Watkins talked him into signing waived all of his appeal rights. So he had no opportunity to go to the [District of Columbia] Circuit Court of Appeals to raise any issues connected to his conviction," Shipley said.
"It was an unconscionable plea agreement. I've done this for 35 years. I recognized it immediately what Watkins had done wrong. Watkins had to plead guilty before the government was even willing to say it had produced all the video. The government in August of 2021 was still telling judges, 'We haven't been able to get all of the evidence to the defense lawyers, so please don't set a trial date'."
Watkins had called Jacob Chansley's prison sentence a "tragedy" and a "dagger at the heart of our American justice system."
Fox News' Joseph Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
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