Jacob Chansley, also known as the “QAnon Shaman” who wore horns and face paint inside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot, has been moved from prison to an Arizona-based halfway house just weeks after Fox News host Tucker Carlson aired previously unseen footage of the riot.
Bureau of Prison records showed Chansley is in custody at the Residential Reentry Management field office in Phoenix. Albert S. Watkins, the attorney who handled the plea and sentencing of Chansley, told the Washington Examiner, “I applaud the decision of the U.S. Bureau of Prison in this regard.”
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“After serving eleven months in solitary prior to his sentence being imposed, and only 16 months of his sentence thereafter, it is appropriate this gentle and intelligent young man be permitted to move forward with the next stage of what undoubtedly will be a law-abiding and enriching life,” Watkins added.
Carlson used his Fox News show to broadcast footage given to him by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) showing Chansley inside the Capitol where at one point, officers appeared to allow Chansley to walk around without restraint. Carlson opined on the footage, arguing that Chansley and other protesters like him were “sightseers’, and ‘mostly peaceful.’
Chansley previously entered a plea bargain that resulted in a single count of obstruction of an official proceeding, landing him 41 months in prison. He was slated to be released in July, but BOP records now show he will be released from the halfway house on May 25.
William Shipley, Chansley’s current attorney, tweeted Thursday the videos released from Carlson “DID NOT play a role in any ‘early release’ for Chansley.”
“Release to Halfway House is pursuant to standard BOP policy, and generally comes with 6 months left in term of imprisonment — so 36 months was the ‘target’ for release to a Halfway House, which would have been August,” Shipley told the Washington Examiner.
Shipley also noted Chansley’s sentence length was “subject to him obtaining certain ‘credits’ for completing programs” while in prison custody and that by completing those programs, he earned a shorter sentence.
“His release date is not ‘early’ — it is as calculated by BOP policy taking the credits into account,” Shipley added.
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Shipley said Wednesday night that Chansley “will make his thoughts known about all that has happened when it is the right time to do so.”
The Washington Examiner contacted the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
