Jacob Chansley Video: Elon Musk asked for the release of “QAnon Shaman” Jacob Chansley, who was given 41 months in prison for his part in the Capitol riot.
“Free Jacob Chansley,” tweeted Tesla CEO and Twitter owner Elon Musk on Friday, along with a video of Chansley telling protesters outside the Capitol that Trump had told people to go home.
A Twitter user responded to Musk by saying that he was part of the “MAGA movement.”
“I’m not part of MAGA, but I do support the principle of justice,” Musk replied. “Chansley was wrongly portrayed in the media as a violent criminal who tried to overthrow the government and encouraged others to commit violence.”
“But here he is telling people to be quiet and go home. In the other video, he walks calmly into the Capitol building while being led by officers. He then thanks the officers.”
Musk was talking about video that was recently shown on Fox News by Tucker Carlson and is now widely shared on social media. In the video, Chansley can be seen walking through the Capitol building with police officers.
The Associated Press said that claims that police followed Chansley around the Capitol building were false because court documents and video footage show that he broke into the building and was not always with a police officer.
Jacob Chansley Video
The news outlet also said that the footage Carlson showed left out important information.
Politifact also said that Chansley was followed by Capitol Police within the building and consistently rejected officers’ orders and requests to leave, which was written in his signed plea agreement.
A Department of Justice timeline says that Chansley was one of the first 30 people to enter the Capitol building on January 6, 2021. He sat on the dais that Vice President Mike Pence had just been in.
A White House spokesperson said that Carlson was “not credible” after he showed never-before-seen footage from the Capitol riot and said that it was a “peaceful” gathering.
Chansley became one of the most well-known Capitol rioters after pictures of him wearing a horned headdress and red, white, and blue face paint got out.
He got his sentence in November 2021 after making a deal to plead guilty to one count of obstruction for his role in the insurrection.