>Shaman
Jan 6 muh insurrection narrative collapsing
QAnon Shaman Jacob Chansley is released 14 months early from prison after Jan. 6 footage showed him being ESCORTED into Senate by cops
Jacob Chansley, 35, was released on Thursday after serving 27 months in prison
He had been sentenced to 41 months after pleading guilty in September 2021
His move to the halfway house appears to be a matter of routine prison policy
By Keith Griffith For Dailymail.com
Published: 10:30 EDT, 30 March 2023 | Updated: 11:28 EDT, 30 March 2023
The so-called 'QAnon Shaman' who pleaded guilty to storming the US Capitol on January 6 has been released from prison to a halfway house 14 months before his sentence was due to end.
Jacob Chansley, 35, pleaded guilty in September 2021 to civil disorder and violent entry to the Capitol, among other charges, and was later sentenced to 41 months in federal prison.
As of Thursday, Bureau of Prison Records showed, and his former attorney confirmed in a statement to DailyMail.com, that Chansley was in a Phoenix halfway house after serving just under 27 months in prison total.
Though Chansley's release comes weeks after his former attorney demanded he be freed in light of new video from the Capitol riot, his move to the halfway house appears to be a matter of routine federal prison policy.
Federal inmates can receive a 15 percent reduction in their prison sentence for good behavior, and can also serve the final 12 months of their sentences in halfway houses at the discretion of the Bureau of Prisons.
In a statement to DailyMail.com on Albert S. Watkins, the attorney who handled Chansley's plea and sentencing, applauded his release from prison to the custody of a halfway house.
'After serving eleven months in solitary prior to his sentence being imposed, and only 16 months of his sentence thereafter, it is appropriate this gentle and intelligent young man be permitted to move forward with the next stage of what undoubtedly will be a law abiding and enriching life,' said Watkins.
'I applaud the decision of the US Bureau of Prison in this regard,' added Watkins.
Bureau of Prison records confirmed that Chansley is in the custody of the Residential Reentry Management field office in Phoenix.
A BOP spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com.
Former federal prosecutor Neama Ramani, the president of West Coast Trial Lawyers, told DailyMail.com that it was unlikely the intense scrutiny on Chansley's case had any impact on his early release.
'I don’t think it has anything to do with media [or] public pressure,' said Ramani, who is not connected with the case. 'Despite the violent nature of the Capitol riots, most of the rioters had little to no criminal history.'
Earlier this month, Watkins had argued that Chansley should be freed after Fox News host Tucker Carlson aired previously unseen footage from the riot.
Carlson used his Fox News show to broadcast clips showing Chansley inside the US Capitol.
Chansley appears to be escorted through the building by Capitol Police officers, while other officers allow the chest-baring, horn-wearing Trump supporter to pass. Carlson used the footage to argue that the rioters were 'sightseers', and 'mostly peaceful'.