'QAnon bison' pleads guilty to assault on US Capitol

The man who stormed the US Capitol last January dressed as a bison pleaded guilty this Friday to one count of obstructing official proceedings during a session of Congress.

Jacob Chansley, 34, of Arizona, pleaded guilty during a virtual hearing before a federal court in the District of Columbia (DC), where the US capital is located.

The guilty plea, which is part of a plea deal, was accepted by Judge Royce Lamberth. In addition, Chansley will pay $2,000 in compensation for damage to the legislative complex.

During the hearing, the one nicknamed in the US as the "shaman of QAnon" limited himself to answering "yes" and "no" to the questions he was asked.

Under the agreement, Chansley has accepted a recommended sentence of between 41 and 51 months in prison, but, according to media reports, the time he has been in jail since January 9 would be deducted. His sentencing has been set for November 17.

Another defendant who pleaded guilty to the same charge was sentenced to eight months in prison in July.

Hundreds of supporters of former US President Donald Trump (2017-2021) stormed the Capitol on January 6, in an event that left five dead, including a police officer.

Answered questions for ChaCha till 1am... and all I have to show for it is $40. But... I did learn how to preserve a severed limb.

— Jessica Patin, ASP Fri Mar 13 05:51:10 +0000 2009

The assault occurred during a joint session of the two houses of Congress to ratify the victory in the November elections of Joe Biden.

Chansley, an adept at the conspiracy theories of the QAnon movement, became the most mediatic assailant of the Capitol since he did it disguised as a bison and came to sit in the chair of the president of the Senate.

He was arrested three days after the assault on charges of entering a restricted building without authorization and with violence.

Since then he has remained behind bars awaiting trial, although media interest in him continued to be active after demanding to be offered organic food in prison and refusing to eat for nine days before achieving it.

Despite initially identifying himself as a QAnon adept, his attorney, Albert Watkins, said in a statement Friday that he has "repudiated the Q" and asked that his client no longer be associated with that letter.

However, the lawyer admitted that his client will always be remembered as "the face of January 6".

"He is to January 6 what the Swoosh is to Nike," Watkins said, referring to the American sportswear brand's logo.

More than 600 people have been charged in federal court for the assault on the Capitol.