AZ man in fur hat arrested in DC riot
He had long dressed as a warrior in Phoenix, donning an animal fur hat topped with horns, painting his face and emerging bare-chested to show off his intricate tattoos.
Jake Angeli told federal authorities he traveled to the U.S. Capitol this week to answer the call from his president, who had asked his supporters to muster in Washington, D.C., on the day Congress met to certify the election defeat of Donald Trump. That protest devolved into a riot that left five people dead, including a Capitol police officer.
Angeli surrendered himself to federal authorities Saturday and was ar
rested for his role in that rush on the Capitol. He faces charges including violent entry and disorderly conduct.
Angeli had been on a list of people sought by Washington, D.C., police. Aware authorities were looking for him, Angeli called the FBI earlier in the week to identify himself as the man photographed in the Capitol rotunda and, briefly, on the dais of the U.S. Senate.
Records released following Angeli’s arrest Saturday showed his mindset before and during the raid on the U.S. Capitol.
Angeli told the FBI that he came to D.C. “as 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,” according to a sworn statement of facts filed in order to secure an arrest warrant.
In the statement of facts, a Capitol Police special agent said he was able to identify Angeli through his “unique attire and extensive tattoos covering his arms and left side of his torso.”
Angeli called the FBI to identify himself Thursday, according to federal officials. A magistrate issued a warrant for Angeli’s arrest on Friday, and Angeli turned himself in Saturday morning at the Phoenix field office.
Angeli was charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and with violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
The FBI turned Angeli over to the U.S. Marshals Service around noon, and he was being detained in an undisclosed location, according to U.S. Marshal David Gonzales.
No immediate release
Gonzales told The Arizona Republic that Angeli would face an extradition hearing on Monday morning in U.S. District Court in Phoenix via a video conference because of court restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Angeli was expected to be sent back to Washington, D.C., where he faces charges that could keep him in federal prison for “years and years,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales said there’s no chance Angeli would be released before Monday’s hearing.
“He’s not going anywhere,” Gonzales said.
Federal authorities have arrested and
charged several people this week, including people like Angeli, whose images were widely seen in newspapers, on television and on websites.
Those include a Florida man who was seen carrying a lectern belonging to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and an Arkansas man who was seen with his feet up on her desk. A West Virginia assemblyman was also arrested Saturday, authorities announced. He resigned his office shortly afterward.
In a conference call of federal officials on Jan. 8, Steven D’Antuono, assistant director in charge of the FBI Washington field office, said, “Just because you’ve left the D.C. region, you can still expect a knock on your door if we find out you were part of the criminal activity at the Capitol.”
The Justice Department’s news release announcing Angeli’s arrest described him in the way many people across the country saw him: “dressed in horns, a bearskin headdress, red, white and blue face paint, shirtless, and tan pants. This individual carried a spear, approximately 6 feet in length, with an American flag tied just below the blade.”
In Phoenix, that garb was well known.
A fixture at Arizona rallies
For the past two years, Angeli had become a fixture at political rallies, marches and protests. Besides his at
tention-getting outfit, Angeli has a booming voice that, without need of amplification, could be easily heard among a crowd.
The Republic interviewed Angeli during 2020 as part of a series of stories and a mini-documentary on the Patriot movement in Arizona, the increasingly powerful right-wing of the Republican Party. Some adherents, including Angeli, promoted conspiracy theories including the baseless idea known as QAnon.
Angeli, 33, lived in Phoenix, but it was not clear what he did for a living.
He was listed on a webpage as available to hire as a voice-over actor. He also conducted online courses in shamanism. He also said he volunteered for an arts organization in Phoenix that worked with at-risk youth.
Though he identified himself publicly as Angeli, court records show he petitioned to have his name legally changed to Jacob Anthony Angeli Chansley in 2005, adopting the last name of the stepfather who raised him.
The Justice Department identified him as “Jacob Anthony Chansley, a.k.a. Jake Angeli, of Arizona.”
A few days a week — when the spirit moved him, Angeli told The Republic in a 2020 interview — he would stand alone outside the Arizona state Capitol and shout diatribes at the buildings, regardless of whether the Legislature was in session or not.
During the 2020 campaign, Angeli was at nearly every march, rally or protest in the Phoenix area. After Election Day, Angeli was among the crowd that protested outside elections headquarters as the counting went on inside. He seemed to take a leadership role, often being one of the featured speakers.
Angeli typically carried a cardboard sign that looked intentionally weathered. It read: Q Sent Me.
It was a reference to the QAnon conspiracy theory that Angeli believed and wished to share with others.
QAnon is a wide-ranging conspiracy theory. But its central belief is this: A government official with top-secret “Q” clearance has been anonymously posting cryptic clues about secret investigations being conducted by Trump. Arrests are imminent. Followers are told to “believe the plan.”
Angeli said he had long used the Internet to research secretive groups he believes control the world — Illuminati, Trilateral Commission and Bilderberg group, among others. The QAnon movement dovetailed, he said, with what he already had found.
“When you really do enough research,” he said, “it all ties together.”
Angeli, reached on his cellphone on the night of the Capitol invasion, refused an interview with The Republic.
However, he did speak with NBC News on Thursday, as he was beginning his return trip to Arizona.
He told NBC he didn’t do anything wrong by entering the U.S. Capitol. “I walked through an open door, dude,” he said.
The raid on the building resulted in deaths, injuries and damage. Outside the building, police deployed tear gas. Inside, Representative and Senators were hustled out of the chamber and into a secure area, some after donning gas masks
At one point, Angeli was pictured at the dais of the U.S. Senate, where Vice President Pence had stood earlier in the day presiding over the session that would certify Trump’s defeat.
Angeli took position and posed for a photo. He stood triumphant, holding a spear in one hand. His face was painted, his chest bare, as he raised the other arm and flexed his muscle.
The FBI asks anyone with digital material or tips to call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or submit images or videos at fbi.gov/USCapitol.