‘Qanon Shaman’ Pleads Not Guilty to Capitol Riot Charges

(Bloomberg) -- The Donald Trump supporter who wore a coyote-skin headdress into the Senate chamber and called himself the “QAnon Shaman” pleaded not guilty to a series of charges stemming from the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

Jacob Chansley entered his plea Friday at an arraignment Friday in federal court in Washington. He is facing charges including violent entry, disorderly conduct and obstruction of an official proceeding.

Images of Chansley standing at the Senate dais were among the most widely circulated from the Capitol insurrection. His lawyer, Albert Watkins, has sought to portray Chansley as non-violent and truly spiritual. In court on Friday, Watkins called his client “a man of faith in shamanism, a longstanding faith.”

U.S. Judge Royce Lamberth seemed genuinely curious about Chansley’s spiritual convictions. “Tell me a little more about the religion,” the judge asked Watkins at one point. “I don’t know a thing about it.”

Watkins also asked Lamberth to help ensure that Chansley receives organic food in jail as he awaits trial. When he eats non-organic food, Watkins said, Chansley experiences a “debilitating” bacterial response, resulting in dehydration.

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