So-called ‘QAnon shaman’ Jacob Chansley has been photographed for the first time since he was released from prison to a rehab center 14 months earlier.
Chansley, 35, was sentenced to three years and four months in prison after storming the United States Capitol on January 6.
Exclusive photos obtained by DailyMail.com show Chansley in a federal halfway house just a few miles from Phoenix, Arizona.
He was released into the housing project, owned by Behavioral Systems Southwest, which has 78 beds on Thursday.
It is a contracted Reentry Center through the United States Federal Bureau of Prisons and Paroles.
Exclusive images obtained by DailyMail.com show Chansley in a federal halfway house just a few miles outside of Phoenix, Arizona.
Chansley, 35, was sentenced to three years and four months in prison after storming the United States Capitol on January 6.
The property has 62 male beds and 16 female beds, and Chansley is scheduled to stay at the property through May 2023, according to the BOP website.
Chansley was seen on the top floor of the building, located in a middle-class neighborhood in downtown Phoenix.
He was seen walking to and from the unit, grabbing food before standing outside and smiling with a large mug in hand.
Donning a beanie and sweatshirt, Chansley cut a much different figure than the one who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 wearing a horned headdress and face paint.
She appeared to be talking to someone on the phone as she clutched a large silver mug and walked across the property’s balcony in bright blue shorts.
Chansley smiled as she walked across the balcony, but has yet to leave the gated property, which has security cameras covering all entrances.
The property has 62 male beds and 16 female beds, with Chansley scheduled to remain at the property through May 2023, according to the BOP website.
Donning a beanie and sweatshirt, Chansley cut a much different figure than the one who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 wearing a horned headdress and face paint.
She appeared to be talking to someone on the phone as she clutched a large silver mug and walked across the property’s balcony in bright blue shorts.
Chansley has been transferred from FCI Stafford federal prison in Arizona to community confinement in the Phoenix area, after serving just under 27 months in prison, a Bureau of Prisons (BOP) spokesperson confirmed in a statement to DailyMail.com Thursday.
The spokesman declined to comment on the reason for the transfer, but pointed generally to federal laws that allow sentence reductions for good behavior, as well as release to a halfway house for the last 12 months of a sentence.
Chansley’s release comes weeks after his former lawyer demanded he be released in light of new video of the riot at the Capitol, but his move to the halfway house appears unrelated.
A former federal prosecutor unrelated to the case said it was doubtful public pressure played a role in Chansley’s transfer, noting that the move appears “sort of routine” under BOP guidelines.
“For safety and security reasons, we do not discuss any inmate’s conditions of confinement, including transfers or release plans, nor do we specify the specific location of an individual while in community confinement,” the BOP spokesperson said.
Chansley smiled as she walked across the balcony, but has yet to leave the gated property, which has security cameras covering all entrances.
He was seen on the top floor of the building, located in a middle-class neighborhood in downtown Phoenix.
Chansley was transferred from FCI Stafford federal prison in Arizona to community confinement in the Phoenix area, after serving a total of just under 27 months in prison.
In a statement to DailyMail.com, Albert S. Watkins, the lawyer who handled Chansley’s guilty plea and sentencing, applauded his transfer to a halfway house.
‘Community confinement’ can refer to both house arrest and halfway house, but Chansley’s former lawyer said he had been moved to halfway house.
The Bureau of Prisons confirmed that Chansley is in the custody of the Residential Reentry Management field office in Phoenix, which has contracts with halfway houses to help inmates prepare to re-enter society. Its release date is set for May 25.
Federal inmates can receive a 15 percent reduction in their prison sentence for good behavior behind bars, and can also serve the last 12 months of their sentences in halfway houses at the discretion of the Bureau of Prisons.
In his elaborate attire and face paint, Chansley became known as the face of the January 6, 2021 riots, in which supporters of former President Donald Trump illegally entered the US Capitol and temporarily disrupted the certification of Joe Biden’s election to the presidency.
In a statement to DailyMail.com, Albert S. Watkins, the lawyer who handled Chansley’s guilty plea and sentencing, applauded his transfer to a halfway house.
Chansley is seen being followed through the Capitol by a police officer on January 6, 2021.
“After serving eleven months in solitary before his sentence was imposed, and only 16 months into his sentence thereafter, it is fitting that this gentle and intelligent young man be allowed to move on to the next stage of what without It will certainly be law-abiding and life-enriching,’ Watkins said.
“I applaud the US Bureau of Prisons’ decision in this regard,” Watkins added.
Watkins declined to speculate on the reason for Chansley’s early release, saying: “This was a decision by the US Bureau of Prisons.” I cannot speak for the United States Bureau of Prisons.
In recent weeks, leading figures including billionaire Elon Musk had called for Chansley’s release, citing new footage that appeared to show him being “escorted” by police officers inside the Capitol during riots.
However, former federal prosecutor Neama Ramani, president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, told DailyMail.com that the intense scrutiny of Chansley’s case was unlikely to have any impact on his early release.
‘I don’t think it has anything to do with the media [or] public pressure,’ said Ramani, who is not related to the case.
He noted that the release of halfway house inmates during the last 12 months of their sentences was “sort of routine for the Bureau of Prisons,” particularly for inmates without extensive criminal histories.
“Despite the violent nature of the riots at the Capitol, most of the rioters had little to no criminal histories,” Ramani said.
Earlier this month, Watkins had argued that Chansley should be released after Fox News host Tucker Carlson broadcast previously unseen footage of the riot.
Carlson used his Fox News show to broadcast clips showing Chansley inside the United States Capitol.
Chansley appears to be escorted into the building by Capitol Police officers, while other officers allow the chest-baring Trump supporter wearing a horn to pass.
In Carlson’s broadcast, Chansley’s former lawyer said he had not been shown the new footage, which the conservative newscaster said was “clearly exculpatory”.
Carlson used the footage to argue that the rioters were “tourists” and “mostly peaceful.”
However, other evidence omitted by Carlson shows that Chansley entered the Capitol without permission, was repeatedly asked to leave the building, and was not accompanied by police officers at all times.
For example, a statement signed by Chansley and his attorney contradicts the suggestion that he was “escorted” by policemen throughout the riot.
The statement admits that Chansley entered the Capitol through a broken door as part of a crowd that was “not legally authorized to enter or remain in the building” and that he was one of the first 30 rioters to enter.
He also notes that although officers asked Chansley and others several times to leave the Capitol, he did not comply and actively urged his fellow rioters.
The statement describes Chansley’s interactions with the officers during the rape, but also notes that he “entered the Senate Gallery alone.”
Watkins previously said his former client rejects the ‘QAnon’ conspiracy theory and prefers to be known simply as ‘the shaman’.