‘QAnon shaman’ is ‘wounded’ Trump hasn’t helped him

The man known as the “QAnon Shaman,” who was seen shirtless and wearing bull horns in the U.S. Capitol during the deadly rioting on Jan. 6, said in his first interview since being jailed that he was “wounded” that former President Trump did not offer to help him.

In the interview, “60 Minutes+” reporter Laurie Segall asked Jacob Chansley if he regretted his loyalty to Trump.

“I developed a lot of sympathy for Donald Trump because it seemed like the media was picking on him and seemed like the establishment was going after him unnecessarily or unfairly, and I had been a victim of that all of my life, whether it be in school or at home. So in many ways I identify with a lot of the negative things that he was going through,” Chansley said.

“I honestly believed and still believe that he cares about the Constitution, that he cares about the American people, and that’s also why and you know it wounded me so deeply and why it disappointed me so greatly that I and others did not get a pardon,” Chansley added.

The “QAnon Shaman” of the January 6th attack on the Capitol tells his story for the first time from jail, as he faces up to 20 years behind bars.

Jacob Chansley spoke with @60minutes+’s @LaurieSegall pic.twitter.com/uhUuFNHRvf

— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) March 4, 2021

Chansley requested a pardon shortly before Trump left office, a request that was not granted.

Shortly before his term ended, Trump issued several pardons to his supporters such as former White House strategist Stephen Bannon, though he did not issue any to the alleged Capitol rioters.

Though he remains loyal to Trump, Chansley said he regrets entering the Capitol “with every fiber of my being.”

Chansley, also known as Jake Angeli, also shot back at assertions that his actions were an attack on the U.S., saying that characterization was “inaccurate entirely.”

“My actions on Jan. 6. How would I describe them? Well, I sang a song,” Chansley said. “I also stopped people from stealing and vandalizing that sacred space. OK, I actually stopped somebody from stealing muffins out of the break room.”

“I consider myself a lover of my country. I consider myself a believer in the Constitution. I consider myself a believer in truth and our founding principles. I consider myself a believer in God,” he added.

Prosecutors allege that Chansley wielded a weapon, a spear attached to a flagpole, while inside the Capitol and left a threatening note for former Vice President Mike Pence.

Chansley was arrested less than a week after the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol breach. He has been charged with knowingly entering a restricted building without lawful authority and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. Chansley reportedly stopped eating after being put in prison, refusing to eat any food that wasn’t organic.

A U.S. district judge granted Chansley’s request after his attorney claimed he had gone nine days without eating.

Prosecutors this week argued against releasing Chansley from jail before his trial, writing in a court filing that he was a danger to the community.

“He cannot be trusted now to suddenly change course,” prosecutors wrote.