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- The QAnon Shaman has lost his most recent attempt at getting out of jail ahead of his trial.
- New court documents released Monday argue Jacob Chansley remains a flight risk and danger.
- A judge said Chansley's "60 Minutes" interview proved he does not appreciate the severity of his charges.
- Visit the Business section of Insider for more stories.
More than two months after the deadly Capitol insurrection, one judge thinks self-styled QAnon Shaman Jacob Chansley, still hasn't learned his lesson.
The infamous horned Capitol participant of the siege lost his latest pretrial release motion Monday, according to new court documents that reject Chansley's claims he was a peaceful participant in the fatal siege.
Earlier this month, Chansley gave his first jailhouse interview since his arrest to CBS News' "60 Minutes+," telling correspondent Laurie Segall he didn't consider his participation in the insurrection an attack on the United States.
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But Chansley's televised appearance appears to have backfired. Judge Royce Lamberth cited the interview in his Monday decision.
"The statements [Chansley] has made to the public from jail show that [he] does not fully appreciate the severity of the allegations against him," Lamberth wrote. "To the contrary, he believes that he - not the American people or members of Congress - was the victim on January 6th."
In the interview, Chansley said he regretted entering the Capitol building illegally, but said he thought the move was "acceptable" because police officers had "waved" protesters in - a claim prosecutors have been unable to confirm, according to court records.
Once inside the building, Chansley told Segall his actions were "peaceful" and "calm." The 33-year-old said he "sang a song" inside the chamber and even "stopped somebody from stealing muffins out of the break room."
But legal documents argue Chansley's depiction of events is a mischaracterization of the role he played that day.
"[Chansley's] perception of his actions on January 6th as peaceful, benign, and well-intentioned, shows a detachment from reality," Lamberth said in the decision.
Chansley is currently jailed in Washington, DC, facing six charges and up to twenty years in prison over his participation in the riot. In addition to illegally trespassing as one of the alleged first rioters to breach the Capitol, court records say Chansley also clashed with Capitol police officers, went into the Senate chamber, and left a note on then-Vice President Mike Pence's dais saying "it's only a matter of time, justice is coming."
He later told FBI agents that Pence was a "child-trafficking traitor," referring to a QAnon conspiracy theory, while Chansley's lawyer, Al Watkins, argued in a pretrial release motion that his client's note for Pence used words that came directly from former President Donald Trump and were not meant as a threat to Pence.
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In the aftermath of the Capitol siege, Chansley has become an outspoken critic of Trump, blaming the former president for his participation in the riot, and even offering to testify against Trump at his impeachment trial. Though last week, Chansley told CBS News he didn't regret his loyalty to Trump.
As a growing number of arrested Capitol rioters turn on the former president, Lamberth's Monday decision suggests shifting blame to Trump may not be a foolproof defense.
"If [Chansley] truly believes that the only reason he participated in an assault on the US Capitol was to comply with President Trump's orders, this shows [his] inability (or refusal) to exercise his independent judgment and conform his behavior to the law," Lamberth said.
Though Chansley has no prior criminal history, his "blatant disregard" for the law on January 6 makes him a danger to the public and the weight of evidence against him, including photos and video footage of him inside the Capitol, "increases the risk he will flee," Lamberth argued.
Court documents also cite Chansley's drug use and "willingness to lie about that drug use" as further examples of his "willingness to openly break the law."
According to legal documents, Chansley told pretrial services he used marijuana three times a week and used no other drugs. Yet, Chansley reportedly said he used psychoactive substances and mushrooms as part of his "shamanistic practice" on his podcast.
Lamberth also rejected Chansley's pretrial release motion claim that COVID-19 restrictions have made "meaningful, unmonitored" consultation with his lawyer "impossible."
The judge said the issue is not that Watkins is unable to meet with his client, but that when he does, he "squanders" the time focusing on media and interview preparation.
"Such media appearances are undoubtedly conducive to defense counsel's fame," Lamberth wrote. "But they are not at all conducive to an argument that the only way defense counsel could privately communicate with his client is if defendant were temporarily released."