Self-described QAnon shaman facing additional federal counts
The Phoenix man whose attire – bare-chested and wearing an animal fur hat with horns – made him among the highest-profile rioters inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 has been charged by a grand jury with violating six federal statutes, according to newly unsealed indictment.
Jake Angeli, 33, had been ordered held since his arrest Saturday based on a two-count criminal complaint filed in the District of Arizona. The indictment from the grand jury, which adds additional counts, was filed in federal court in Washington, D.C.
The grand jury indictment charges Angeli with civil disorder, obstruction of an official proceeding, violent entry and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, and demonstrating in a Capitol building. It additionally charges him with one count of entering and remaining in a restricted building and another count of violent entry and disorderly conduct in a restricted building.
Under federal law, the U.S. Capitol was defined as a restricted building on Jan. 6, because Vice President Mike Pence was inside. A building becomes restricted, according to statute, when someone is inside who is entitled to protection by the Secret Service.
The count accusing him of disrupting an official proceeding accuses Angeli of “forcing his way inside the United States Capitol and traversing the United States Capitol Grounds in an effort to prevent the Electoral College votes from being certified.”
The punishment for violations of the counts involving restricted buildings would be less than a year of imprisonment, according to federal statutes. However, the possible punishment rises to a maximum of 10 years if a deadly weapon is involved, according to the statute.
Angeli, while wandering the Capitol and briefly taking the dais of the U.S. Senate, was carrying a six-foot spear.
Angeli, who describes himself as a shamanistic warrior, had carried a spear and worn his attention-getting outfit during protests and marches in Phoenix since 2019. Sometimes, he was a oneman rally.
He often carried a sign that read: Q Sent Me. He shouted invectives spreading the word about that conspiracy theory that involves, in part, accusations of horrendous crimes committed by highlevel politicians. President Donald Trump, according to the false theory, has been investigating and arrests have long been described as imminent.
Angeli made a habit of shouting outside various buildings in the city, including the building housing The Arizona Republic. He also could be found a few times a week shouting outside the Arizona State Capitol, even when the legislature wasn’t in session and his booming voice echoed off of largelyempty buildings.
Angeli became a fixture, and a featured speaker, at protests outside the Maricopa County elections headquarters where ballots were being counted following the November election.
Angeli was photographed as he strode into the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, his unique look making him stand out among the mob.
Five people, including a Capitol Police officer, died as a result of the melee. The incursion halted the usually perfunctory certification of the November election by Congress. Senators and Representatives were hustled into secure locations.
Angeli’s photo was placed on a bulletin issued by Washington, D.C., Metropolitan police, asking for the public’s help in identifying him.
Angeli called the FBI the next day to identify himself as the bare-chested and face-painted man in the horned hat. He turned himself into the Phoenix FBI office two days later.
In an interview with NBC News the day after the raid, Angeli insisted he did nothing wrong. “I walked through an open door, dude.”
He also told NBC he saw the mob’s action as a victory. “The fact that we had a bunch of our traitors in office hunker down, put on their gas masks and retreat into their underground bunker,” he said. “I consider that a win.”
In a text message, Angeli told The Arizona Republic he was grateful the newspaper’s story about his part in the Capitol mob correctly identified him as being a follower of the QAnon conspiracy theory and not a member of the leftwing Antifa movement, as had been rumored online.
Angeli had been held on two counts: knowingly remaining in a restricted building without authority, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
The grand jury indictment was issued Jan. 8, two days after the Capitol raid, but was sealed until Angeli was placed in custody. It was still sealed when Angeli had his initial appearance in federal court in Phoenix on Monday. It appeared on the publicly available docket on Wednesday.
The case against Angeli was filed under his legal name, Jacob Anthony Chansley.
Angeli’s next court appearance was scheduled for Friday in Phoenix. At that hearing, a magistrate judge will decide whether Angeli will remain in custody while awaiting trial in D.C.