Jacob Chansley, the Capitol riot suspect known online as the “QAnon Shaman, has finally been unmasked. Chansley wore face paint, fur and a horned headdress to when he was photographed storming the Capitol building on Jan. 6, but this week his mugshot was published. Chansley is now being held in Alexandria, Virginia.
Chansley — also known as Jake Angeli — might be hard to recognize with his face paint washed off and his tattoos covered up. According to a report by Law and Crime, his mugshot was released publicly on Thursday evening. That same day, he was transferred to the Alexandria Detention Center after making repeated requests for an all-organic diet, which he said was a religious requirement for his form of shamanism. Chansley’s lawyer has argued that this is a legitimate religious dietary practice not unlike Kosher or Halal food.
Videos by PopCulture.com
‘QAnon Shaman’ unrecognizable in mugshot from Virginia jail https://t.co/leeIq5O0P5 pic.twitter.com/9DQtASgHY6
— New York Post (@nypost) February 6, 2021
On Wednesday, a federal judge ruled in Chansley’s favor, saying that the jail must comply with his religious dietary needs. The Washington, D.C. Department of Corrections argued that it was “unable to comply” with that order, and thus Chansley was moved to Virginia.
The move is likely why Chansley’s mugshot has now been released, Law and Crime speculates. Federal authorities often keep mugshots out of the press following a 2016 decision by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, which said that mugshots “convey guilt” before a trial is even held, and can “haunt the depicted individual for decades.”
Virginia state authorities are not beholden to this decision, and Chansley’s new mugshot was released quickly. His face is already well-known from weeks of non-stop coverage of the Capitol riot, which took five lives and shook faith in American democracy all around the globe.
Chansley’s move to the Alexandria Detention Center follows over a week on a hunger strike when the alleged domestic terrorist refused to eat. His lawyer, Albert Watkins, told The Hill that Chansley had lost about 20 pounds since his arrest. He said: “Based on Mr. Jacob Chansley’s shamanic belief system and way of life, non-organic food, which contains unnatural chemicals, would act as an ‘object intrusion’ onto his body and cause serious illness if he were to eat it.”
Of course, critics of the prison systems have pointed out longstanding reports on how difficult it is for some inmates to get their religiously mandated diets — particularly Halal for Muslim prisoners. According to the ACLU, such diets should be accommodated, but a 2019 report by Vice documents the refusal of many prison officials to provide that food. Unlike Chansley, many of those prisoners do not have publicity and lawyers to advocate for them.
