Lawyer for ‘QAnon Shaman’ stands by comment calling Capitol rioters 'short-bus people'

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Mike Brest
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The lawyer for the “QAnon Shaman” refused to apologize after calling his client and other Capitol rioters a litany of insulting names.

Albert Watkins, who is representing Jacob Chansley, a protester who became well known for his unique outfit during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, accused the defendants of having “brain damage” and of being "f***ing retarded," in comments to Talking Points Memo on Tuesday. He stood by them the next day.

Watkins declined to apologize for the remarks during a Wednesday morning interview on CNN when asked directly, explaining that the comments he later acknowledged as "politically incorrect" got attention, which is what he had been seeking.

GOSAR SAYS BABBIT WAS 'EXECUTED,' DURING CAPITOL RIOT, CALLING RIOTERS 'PEACEFUL PATRIOTS

"No," he said. "For five months, I acted professionally. I talked to the people that needed to know. I made sure that the Department of Justice had the opportunity firsthand to meet with my client. ... I let them talk to my client while he is confined. Not once, not twice, but multiple times. And I got nowhere. All I had to do was get vulgar, get vulgar in a short sound-bite-driven quote that permitted this very issue to come to the fore."

Watkins, in the original remark, said he was "going to use this colloquial term, perhaps disrespectfully — but they’re all f***ing short-bus people. These are people with brain damage. They’re f***ing retarded. They’re on the goddamn spectrum.”

He also took a softer approach, saying that they’re still “our brothers, our sisters, our neighbors, our coworkers — they’re part of our country.”

The lawyer added that these people fell victim to “propaganda,” presumably referencing former President Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of a stolen election.

“These aren’t bad people. They don’t have prior criminal history,” he said. “F***, they were subjected to four-plus years of goddamn propaganda the likes of which the world has not seen since f***ing Hitler.”

In a subsequent comment to Insider, Watkins acknowledged that his previous remarks were “politically incorrect,” but he said there was a “reason and purpose” behind them. He has asked for "compassion and understanding of those involved in the events of January 6 with mental health issues and disability have to date fallen on deaf ears."

Watkins told the outlet that his client has Asperger's syndrome and that his mental health would play a role in his case.

Chansley was the shirtless man filmed strutting through the Capitol building on Jan. 6, clad in a horned coyote-tail headdress, face paint, and wielding a flag-adorned spear. His image was splashed across newspapers around the country following the riot, and he was subsequently arrested on several federal charges.

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Chansley, also known as Jake Angeli, was charged with two felonies and four misdemeanors for his alleged wrongdoing.

The Department of Justice has charged more than 400 people in connection with the chaos at the Capitol Building on Jan. 6, according to CNN. Of those, 65 were charged for assaulting officers.

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Tags: News, QAnon, U.S. Capitol Building, U.S. Capitol Police, Law, Crime, Riots

Original Author: Mike Brest

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