'Qanon Shaman' Serving Time In Safford, Has Appealed Sentence

PHOENIX, AZ — Jacob Chansley, better known as the "QAnon Shaman" is serving out the remainder of his 41-month sentence for his part in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot in a low-security federal correctional institution in Safford, according to online prison records.

Safford is about 175 miles east and slightly south of Phoenix.

Chansley had asked to be placed in a prison in Arizona to be near his family in Phoenix, where he grew up, according to court documents.

Chansley took a plea deal in September, and pleaded guilty to one charge of obstructing an official proceeding, but he's since appealed his conviction and sentence, according to court documents.

Chansley has also replaced his former attorney, Al Watkins, with Los Angeles-based lawyer, John M. Pierce, according to court documents. Pierce has represented at least 22 others implicated in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection. He also represented Kyle Rittenhouse for a time, but was fired before Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges in November for shooting and killing two men and injuring another during a police brutality protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin in 2020.

Chansley was sentenced in November to 41 months in prison and three years of probation and was ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution. Chansley had been imprisoned since Jan. 9, 2021 and was given credit for time served.

During the riot, Chansley donned a furry, horned viking hat and was shirtless, wearing body paint and carrying an American flag. He had a bullhorn in his hand, and is accused of shouting obscenities and threats of violence while inside the capitol building.

Since his arrest, Chansley denounced QAnon, an internet community founded on pro-Trump conspiracy theories.