The Capitol rioter known as the 'Q Shaman' will take a test in prison to establish if he is mentally competent to stand trial

June 27, 2021

The Capitol rioter known as the 'Q Shaman' will take a test in prison to establish if he is mentally competent to stand trial

Qanon shaman viking riot capitol — Jacob Anthony Chansley, the "Q Shaman," was one of several protestors to confront Capitol police officers at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, in Washington, DC. - Demonstrators breeched security and entered the Capitol as Congress debated the a 2020 presidential election Electoral Vote Certification.
SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

Jacob Anthony Chansley, known as the 'Q Shaman', will undergo a psychological test in prison.
The test is aimed at establishing if he can stand trial.
Chansley, who wore horns and fur during the riot, is among the most recognisable faces of the January 6 insurrection.
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Jacob Anthony Chansley, the January 6 Capitol rioter dubbed the 'Q Shaman', will take a test in prison aimed at establishing if he is fit to understand the legal case against him, according to court records.

In a filing Saturday, US attorneys said that Chansley would take the test at the Colorado federal prison in Littleton, where he is being detained.

Shirtless and wearing a horned helmet and fur as he walked through the halls of Congress on January 6, Chansley is one of the most recognizable members of the mob of Trump supporters who breached the US Capitol.

He had long been known as an influencer in the QAnon conspiracy theory movement.

Chansley, also known as Jake Angeli, faces six federal charges over his alleged role in the unrest in the Capitol on January 6, including violent entry and disorderly conduct. He denies the charges.

In May, US District Judge Royce Lamberth ordered Chansley to undergo a psychological evaluation.

The test, said Lamberth, would establish if Chansley is "presently suffering from a mental disease or defect rendering him mentally incompetent to the extent that he is unable to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him or to assist properly in his defense."

His lawyer, Albert Watkins, has claimed that his client is autistic, and believed that he was acting on the orders of President Donald Trump when he entered the Capitol that day. He said his client did not engage in violence and that his mental condition had deteriorated in jail, where he was held after his arrest in January.

Watkins had described many of the January 6 rioters as "f---ing short-bus people," who have "brain damage" and had been manipulated by years of relentless propaganda by Trump in comments to Talking Point memo.

Chansley was transferred from Alexandria Detention Center in Virginia to the Colorado correctional facility to undergo the test, NBC News reported earlier in June.

The test will seek to establish if he is mentally competent to answer the charges against him in court. If it's found that he isn't he'd likely be spared a jail sentence, and would instead be treated at a prison hospital if found guilty.

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