Jacob Chansley, also known as the “QAnon Shaman,” faced rebuke from a federal judge on Friday after the alleged Capitol rioter appeared in a “60Minutes+” interview that aired the previous day.
U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth in Washington, D.C., raised questions about Chansley’s appearance on the show during a detention hearing. Lamberth questioned if Chansley and his attorney Albert Watkins went through the proper channels to get authorization for the appearance, according to The Washington Post.
In his interview, Chansley expressed that his involvement in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was “not an attack on this country.” He also stated that he went into the Capitol building because he “believed Donald Trump had our back.”
Chansley said that he also remains loyal to former President Trump despite the fact that he was not pardoned by the president prior to him leaving the White House.
“I developed a lot of sympathy for Donald Trump because it seemed like the media was picking on him and seemed like the establishment was going after him unnecessarily or unfairly, and I had been a victim of that all of my life, whether it be in school or at home. So in many ways I identify with a lot of the negative things that he was going through,” Chansley said in the interview.
Watkins admitted to the judge that he did make “independent arrangements” to get Chansley an interview on “60 Minutes Plus,” but denied being deceitful in his actions, the Post reported.
Chansley has remained in jail since his arrest in his hometown of Phoenix on Jan 9. He is currently awaiting trial.
Earlier this week federal prosecutors argued that Chansley should not be released from jail before his trial, writing in a court filing that he was a danger to the community.
“He cannot be trusted now to suddenly change course,” prosecutors wrote.