The weird guy known as QAnon shaman who was part of the insurrection in the US Capitol and sat the Senate president’s chair and even said a prayer is now in jail. The past weekend, he gave an interview to the CBS show 60 Minutes+. Without his makeup and regalia, he cuts quite a different figure. It appears that he lives with his mother who was also interviewed and she seems to be an enabler of his idiocy.
I was surprised by this because jail inmates usually cannot give media interviews. It turns out that his lawyer Al Watkins had asked the prison authorities for a video interview with his client and had not told them that a TV interview would be part of it. District Judge Royce Lamberth, who is presiding over his case, is irked, calling it a ‘subterfuge’ by Watkins that violated his explicit instructions for what was allowed.
Chansley now claims that he was just an innocent person who had wandered into the capital because it was open and was even invited in and that he had been duped by Trump. He said that he has expected a pardon from Trump and is disappointed that he did not get one. These people seem to think that Trump cares about them.
Lamberth seemed incredulous about that claim, saying he’d seen a photo on the front page of The Washington Post showing a Capitol window being smashed just as Chansley moved through a nearby doorway.
Watkins also argued that releasing Chansley would be a gesture of goodwill and national reconciliation, ensuring that “people like Jacob Chansley and millions of others who really did adore former President [Donald] Trump are not subject to retribution and ridicule.”
“There are too many of them to hold them in disdain. There is compassion and patience that’s going to be required as a great many Americans extricate themselves from a longstanding, propaganda-ridden period of leadership,” the defense attorney said.
Really? Watkins wants a gesture of goodwill towards those who tried to overthrow the government?
The government, though, has maintained that Watkins’ lighthearted portrayal of Chansley misconstrues a more sinister side. Chansley, they said, ignored numerous clear warnings to turn away from the Capitol. He loomed over law enforcement while wielding his spear, and he left a threatening note for then-Vice President Mike Pence on the Senate rostrum, they said.
Prosecutor Kimberly Paschall also painted as absurd the idea that Chansley thought it was permissible for him to enter the Capitol amid the riot.
“There is absolutely no way he could have thought that police were escorting him into the building when the window was being cracked. … Alarms were going off,” Paschall said. “There is no reasonable interpretation of events where this man could believe it was OK … that he could continue to walk up those steps.”
People like Chansley act and talk so tough but as soon as they face even the slightest setback, they start to whine and blame others. Just like Trump, their hero.
Stephen Colbert has an update of Chansley and some of the other people who are now in jail because of their role in the insurrection.
In other words, don’t act like Trump voters did for over four years. Or Republicans in general have for decades.
Really? Because I hold over 70 million Americans in disdain and am having no problem with that.
I’ve also realized what we thought was a hat was just a fur wig with horns.
Cantwell the Crying Nazi became a meme because of this.
I really do adore money, so I should not be charged with robbing that bank.
Twitter sues Texas AG Paxton, claiming he “retaliated” over Trump ban
When the only defense your lawyer can muster is basically “Let’s all think happy thoughts!” you know you’re screwed. For making that appeal to the judge I don’t blame the lawyer. That’s kind of his job, although I think a good one would have probably prevented that situation in the first place and urged their client to plead guilty in hopes of a lesser sentence.
Sneaking a tv interview though, that doesn’t sound very smart at all for his lawyer. As I understand it, judges don’t appreciate competition so attempting to try your case before the court of public opinion when you’re also before a federal judge doesn’t seem like a very good move. That’s the kind of nonsense political operatives do when they think they can sell something based on the branding they’re getting out of it. I doubt this guy will end up with book deals and speaking tours out of this.
@lanir
It’s even worse than that. In the article I read, they mentioned that one of the lawyer’s justifications for release was that communicating with the client was a hardship. The judge threw that right back in his face, saying that the interview proved he had no difficulty setting up communications with his client.
There is plenty of time for goodwill and national reconciliation once the guilty have been punished.
As mentioned above, Chansley was carrying a deadly weapon the whole time he was there.
His flagpole is actually a spear.
One with a large, shiny steel point on it.
There is no doubt that it could easily wound or kill anyone who got on the sharp side of it.
A huge number of the Capitol building attackers were carrying various weapons.
You don’t bring knives, guns, handcuffs, pepper spray, clubs, and spears to…a peaceful protest rally.
“I didn’t use the cocaine to get high, I just like the way it smells” -- Ray Wylie Hubbard
Why isn’t Watkins in a cell beside his client? I would have thought he was in contempt of court or in violation of security regulations. Well, facing disbarment at the least.
“He walked through open doors! (which were open only because they had been smashed open)”
“He was invited in! (by the people that smashed the doors open)”
Inquiring minds want to know: Are these two smarter than a cuttlefish?
Are these two smarter than a cuttlefish?
Not if you are using the ability to delay gratification as your metric.