His picture went around the world: with a tattooed bare torso, a fur hat on his head and the US flag in his right hand, Jacob Chansley was one of those Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol in Washington DC on January 6, 2021. The alleged conspiracy theorist was later sentenced to 41 months in prison.
But now the shaman receives support. After the broadcast of a post on Fox News, Twitter and Tesla boss Elon Musk is apparently convinced of Chansley’s innocence: “Free Jacob Chansley” (“Let Jacob Chansley free”) tweeted the internet tycoon.
His reasoning: A video shows how Chansley asked the angry crowd in front of the Capitol to “go home”. This was preceded by a tweet from Donald Trump, who called for de-escalation.
Another video relieved the shaman. It shows Chansley calmly being escorted through the Capitol by the police. There shouldn’t have been any violence.
However, Musk is facing headwind from the US research network “Politifact”. The video excerpts were taken out of context, other images clearly show that shaman Chansley repeatedly ignored the police’s request to leave the Capitol.
