Elon Musk calls for release of QAnon Shaman from prison over Capitol riot actions

Billionaire business mogul Elon Musk called for Jacob Chansley to be freed from prison on Friday, arguing that the so-called QAnon Shaman’s actions during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, were “falsely portrayed.”

“Free Jacob Chansley,” Musk wrote in an explosive tweet on Friday. 

The Twitter CEO and founder of Tesla and SpaceX said it was an issue of “fairness of justice,” as he shared resurfaced footage from the day supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol Building that shows Chansley, now 35, urging rioters to go home. 

“I’m not part of MAGA, but I do believe in fairness of justice,” Musk continued.  

“Chansley was falsely portrayed in the media as a violent criminal who tried to overthrow the state and who urged others to commit violence. But here he is urging people to be peaceful and go home. And the other video shows him calmly walking in the Capitol Building, being escorted by officers and then thanking the officers,” Musk added, referencing bombshell security camera footage from inside the Capitol Building obtained by Fox News host Tucker Carlson. 

In September 2021, Chansley pleaded guilty to one count of obstructing an official proceeding and was sentenced to 41 months in prison that November.

According to a timeline of events — compiled by the Justice Department and upon which Chansley signed off as part of his guilty plea — the Navy veteran from Arizona was one of the first 30 rioters to enter the Capitol on Jan. 6, at around 2:14 p.m., through doors that had been busted open from the inside.

The footage shared by Musk on Friday shows Chansley — clad in his conspicuous horned fur headdress with red, white and blue face paint — likely just moments before he entered the building, with his back toward the doors of the Capitol as he shouts in his bullhorn that Trump has asked protesters to “go home.” 

“We made our point. Donald Trump asked everybody to go home,” Chansley cries out. 

“We’re going to do as he asks,” he goes on and proceeds to read Trump’s request aloud. 

It’s unclear why Chansley then decided to make his way into the Capitol Building, as Congress was certifying Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory, and make his way to the Senate floor. 

Never-before-seen footage aired on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight” on Monday, shows that once inside, Chansley leisurely strolls through the building, hardly being challenged or acknowledged by Capitol Police.

The “Shaman” is seen in the footage being escorted by two Capitol Police officers as they roam the hallways of Congress, trying to find an unlocked door that leads to the Senate chamber. 

The DOJ timeline confirmed that an officer followed Chansley into the chamber as the Navy vet took the seat on the dais recently occupied by Vice President Mike Pence.

“Thank you, Heavenly Father, for taking the inspiration needed to these police officers to allow us into this building,” Chansley intoned into his bullhorn during an impromptu “prayer” from the dais.