On January 6, 2021, he had his face painted red, white, and blue, his torso bare and covered in tattoos, and he wore a headdress with bison horns. Five years later, Jake Angeli, who made headlines as the “QAnon Shaman,” is trying to rewrite his political story. The man who became one of the symbols of the Capitol assault has announced his intention to run for governor of Arizona while simultaneously turning his back on Donald Trump.
At the time, Angeli, also known as Jacob Chansley, stood out among the crowd of Trump supporters who had entered Congress in an attempt to block the certification of Joe Biden’s electoral victory. He reached the Senate chamber, occupied for a few minutes the seat just vacated by Vice President Mike Pence, and led a prayer amplified through a megaphone. Those images went around the world and helped cement him as an icon of the insurrection.
His legal trajectory was swift and severe. Sentenced to 41 months in prison, he served 27 before being released in early 2023 for good behavior. On January 20 of last year, the day of the inauguration of the new presidential term, the GOP leader granted him a pardon along with roughly 1,500 other defendants or convicts involved in the intrusion into the “temple of American democracy.” During the trial, the defense highlighted a long history of psychological vulnerabilities, also documented in prior clinical assessments.
Today, at 38, he asserts a clear break from the Republican he once revered. He accuses Trump of having reneged on anti-interventionist promises and of governing in continuity with the elite that the MAGA movement claimed to oppose. In a recent interview with The Times, he dismissed his previous activism as a political and moral failure, stating: “Since I’m one of the only people that seem to have their wits about them and understand what’s actually going on in the world, it is up to me, as far as I’m concerned, to do something about these problems.”
The announced candidacy in Arizona, as an independent, is still far from confirmed: in the past, Angeli failed to gather the required signatures in time to appear on the ballot. Yet his ambitions are not lacking; in recent months, he also filed a civil lawsuit seeking $40 trillion, claiming without evidence that he is the legitimate president of the United States and could settle the national debt through an extraordinary monetary maneuver. More than a structured political project, his effort appears as a vehicle to continue spreading a radically anti-establishment vision.
Five years after the Capitol assault, several former participants in January 6 have attempted or announced entries into institutional affairs, a sign that radicalization has not ended with the convictions. According to Department of Justice data, more than 1,200 people were charged for the events of 2021, with hundreds of sentences already issued.
Meanwhile, in the House, Democrats convened a public hearing with testimonies to counter what they describe as a reductive narrative of the Capitol assault, promoted by the Republican himself following the presidential pardons. The initiative, announced by Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, aims to document the concrete impact of the violence and draw attention to the public safety risks associated with the release of those convicted.
Wuzzy_Gee on January 6th, 2026 at 18:51 UTC »
Put him back in jail.
lasveganon on January 6th, 2026 at 18:48 UTC »
May he have the a same success as kari lake
MikeTalonNYC on January 6th, 2026 at 18:42 UTC »
Huh, looks like Dances With Karens is going for a new job.