'QAnon shaman' pleads guilty for role in Capitol riot, faces up to 4 1/2 years in prison

Jacob Chansley was shirtless inside the Capitol building with face paint and a horned hat

Jacob Chansley, an Arizona man known as the "QAnon shaman" who was photographed inside the Senate dais during the Capitol riot, reached a plea deal Friday and will likely serve 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 years in prison

Chansley was one of the first people to enter the Capitol building on Jan. 6, shirtless, with an American flag spear, face paint and furry horns. 

He was arrested three days after the riot and originally charged with six crimes. On Friday he pleaded guilty to one felony count of obstructing an official proceeding. 

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An Arizona man seen in photos and video of the mob wearing a fur hat with horns was charged in the Capitol riot chaos. Jacob Anthony Chansley, who also goes by the name Jake Angeli, was taken into custody Saturday, Jan. 9. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

Albert Watkins, Chansley's lawyer, requested that his client undergo a competency examination in May and told Fox News in July that he "is diagnosed with mental health vulnerabilities, including transient schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anxiety and depression exacerbated by socio stressors."

Chansley was found to be mentally competent after being transferred to a Colorado facility for the mental health evaluation. 

"I am very appreciative for the court’s willingness to have my mental vulnerabilities examined," Chansley said in court on Friday. 

Chansley was a regular at Trump rallies and told an FBI agent on Jan. 7 that he traveled to the nation's capital "as a part of a group effort, with other ‘patriots’ from Arizona, at the request of the President that all 'patriots' come to D.C. on January 6, 2021."

Watkins has said that his client now rejects the QAnon movement. 

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About 600 people were charged in the Capitol riot, of which roughly 50 have since pleaded guilty. Paul Hodgkins, a Florida man, was the first offender to be sentenced when he received eight months in prison in July for obstructing an official proceeding. 

Chansley is set to be sentenced on Nov. 17 and could face 41 to 51 months in prison, a prosecutor said Friday. He remains jailed for now but U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth is considering his request to be released while awaiting sentencing. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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