Guess Who’s Running for Congress?

Jacob Chansley, better known as the "QAnon Shaman” from the Capitol riot, has expressed his intention to run for Congress in Arizona. According to the Associated Press, he intends to run as a Libertarian in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District, in the hopes of filling the seat of retiring Republican Rep. Debbie Lesko.

Chansley gained notoriety after the Capitol riot for his distinctive appearance. He was clad in a fur headdress, face paint, and horns. Chansley can be seen on video being escorted through the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

He received a 41-month federal prison sentence in November 2021 after pleading guilty to obstructing an official proceeding. After approximately 27 months, he was released early for good behavior and moved to a halfway house in Phoenix.

Despite his criminal record, he is not barred from holding federal office.

Chansley spoke to Newsmax about his congressional run.

“You could choose to look at me as a felon. I’ve heard people call me a traitor that’s a threat to democracy. Or you could choose to look at me as I am a person that was maligned and skewered by a corrupt system — as so many hundreds of thousands of people have been in the United States, as so many Jan. 6ers have been in the United States, and as Donald Trump has been in the United States of America,” Chansley said.

"The DOJ can call anybody or can convict anybody on anything," Chansley added. "I believe it was Clarence Thomas that said the average American citizen breaks six federal laws each day. So our list of rules for the government is a page or two. It's called the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, but their list of rules for us are thousands, hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of pages at this point – hence why the average American citizen breaks six federal laws a day. That's a problem."

Chansley continued, "And, so, in my opinion, if the American people are looking for change, then I guarantee you they're not going to find it in the establishment. They're not going to find it in any of the people that are currently in Congress because those people are banking on keeping the status quo. That's how they keep their jobs. These people want careers in D.C. They don't want to make change."

On Monday's "National Report," Jacob Chansley, better known as the MAGA Shaman, appeared for his first network TV interview since his release from prison and said what he did was wrong. @ShaunKraisman @EmmaRechenberg pic.twitter.com/TuBYQeocT3
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) November 13, 2023