Judge calls Capitol siege ‘violent insurrection,’ orders man who wore horns held

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) - A federal judge yesterday ordered a far-right conspiracy theorist who left an ominous note for Vice President Mike Pence inside the U.S. Capitol to be detained pending trial, saying he participated in a “violent insurrection.”

In U.S. District Court in Phoenix, Arizona, Magistrate Judge Deborah Fine ruled that Jacob Chansley, who was famously photographed inside the U.S. Senate Chamber wearing horns during the Capitol riots, should not be released from custody.

Chansley, a Navy veteran and follower of QAnon, allegedly left a note for Pence warning: “It’s only a matter of time, justice is coming.” QAnon is a conspiracy theory that casts Trump as a savior figure and elite Democrats as a cabal of Satanist pedophiles and cannibals,

Fine on Friday called Chansley “an active participant in a violent insurrection that attempted to overthrow the United States government” and said she fears he is a danger to the community and a flight risk.

As she made her ruling, Chansley interjected and tried to speak, but the judge cut him off, saying he should avoid making statements.

Her ruling came shortly after prosecutors in Arizona walked back sweeping statements they made just a day earlier in their memo seeking detention, claiming the government had “strong evidence” that the “intent of the Capitol rioters was to capture and assassinate elected officials in the United States government.”