The lawyer who represented the ‘QAnon Shaman’ in his trial for storming the Capitol on January 6 has said that his client has been released from prison to a halfway house.
Jacob Chansley, 35, pleaded guilty in September 2021 to civil disorder and violent entry to the Capitol, among other charges, and was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison.
In a statement to DailyMail.com on Thursday his attorney Albert S. Watkins said he had been released from prison to the custody of a halfway house.
‘After serving eleven months in solitary prior to his sentence being imposed, and only 16 months of his sentence thereafter, it is appropriate this gentle and intelligent young man be permitted to move forward with the next stage of what undoubtedly will be a law-abiding and enriching life,’ said Watkins.
‘I applaud the decision of the US Bureau of Prison in this regard,’ added Watkins.
Bureau of Prison records confirmed that Chansley is in the custody of the Residential Reentry Management field office in Phoenix, with a release date of May 25.
It was not immediately clear what led to Chansley’s early release, and Watkins declined to comment, saying: ‘This was a decision of the US Bureau of Prisons. I cannot speak for the US Bureau of Prisons.’
Earlier this month, Watkins argued that Chansley should be freed after Fox News host Tucker Carlson aired previously unseen footage from the riot.
