Self-described ‘QAnon shaman’ Jake Angeli says he was ‘betrayed’ by President Trump because he failed to pardon him for storming the US Capitol, and is willing to testify against the former president at his impeachment trial.
Jacob Chansley of Arizona, who calls himself the “QAnon Shaman” and also known as Jake Angeli, said he feels that he has been “betrayed” by Trump because he failed to pardon him and others who attacked the Capitol, said attorney Al Watkins, The Associated Press reported.
Watkins said in a statement on Thursday that Chansley is willing to discuss “whether the words of former President Trump were understood by Mr. Chansley to be nothing short of an invitation to go to the Capitol with the president to fight like hell,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
Chansley had been “horrendously smitten” with President Trump, and believed he was following his orders in the insurrection at the Capitol, Watkins explained.
Watkins said he hasn’t yet spoken to any member in the Senate since announcing his offer Thursday.
Trump’s impeachment trial in the Senate is set to kick off the week of Feb. 8.
Chansley told investigators he came to the Capitol “at the request of the president that all ‘patriots’ come to D.C. on January 6,” according to court records.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is opposed to the idea; “I cannot think of a better way to turn the upcoming impeachment trial into a complete circus than to call the QAnon Shaman as a witness on anything,” he tweeted Friday.
Chansley hasn’t yet entered a plea to charges civil disorder, obstruction of an official proceeding, disorderly conduct in a restricted building and demonstrating in a Capitol building, among other counts. He remains in a Washington, D.C. jail, where he has been provided organic meals after refusing to eat until his dietary demands were met.
