Thanks to Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, Fox News Channel’s Tucker Carlson was able to air footage of January 6th in which he showed what the so-called “QAnon Shaman,” Jacob Chansley, was up to after he entered the Capitol. That footage might have helped, as Chansely was just let out of prison 14 months early and is now in the custody of a halfway house.
Tucker characterized the footage as having shown that Chansely was “escorted” around the building by the police and that those who entered the Capitol on January 6th were mostly sightseers. However, prosecutors pushed back on that narrative, saying, “Chansley was not some passive, chaperoned observer of events for the roughly hour that he was unlawfully inside the Capitol. He was part of the initial breach of the building; he confronted law enforcement for roughly 30 minutes just outside the Senate Chamber; he gained access to the gallery of the Senate along with other members of the mob (obviously, precluding any Senate business from occurring); and he gained access to and later left the Senate floor only after law enforcement was able to arrive en masse to remove him.”
Well, regardless of their protestations, Chansely was just freed from prison and transferred to a halfway house 14 months early. His lawyer spoke on that to the Daily Mail, saying:
“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. I applaud the decision of the US Bureau of Prison in this regard.”
The Daily Mail added that it’s unclear why the Bureau of Prisons chose to release Chansley early, saying:
Bureau of Prison records confirmed that Chansley is in the custody of the Residential Reentry Management field office in Phoenix, with a release date set for 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.’
Federal guidelines allow for reduced prison time due to good behavior, but under those guidelines Chansley would have expected to serve at least 35 months and 22 days of his 41-month sentence.
Instead, he was transferred to the halfway house after just 27 months in prison, including the time served prior to his sentencing.
So, t should be noted that the Bureau of Prisons did not say that the footage was the reason, and it very well could have simply been a routine transfer to a halfway house, with no other reason that Chansley was released early. However, the reason could also very well have been the tapes. Chanely’s attorney argued that the tapes were exculpatory and that prosecutors had hidden that evidence from him, setting up an unfair and unjust trial. Watch him explain that here:
Jacob Chansley's Former Attorney Albert Watkins says exculpatory evidence was withheld from his client. pic.twitter.com/CxStlyQqQ4
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) March 9, 2023
Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg is, much like the prosecutors in Chansely’s case, accused of hiding exculpatory evidence when a grand jury was considering whether to indict Trump over the alleged payment to Stormy Daniels. A document appears to show that Michael Cohen paid Daniels and was not reimbursed by the Trump Campaign.
"*" indicates required fields