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Jake Angeli

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Q Shaman in Arizona
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He believes that global elites are running the world, that United States leaders are part of a secret rings of child abusers who practice satanic worship, and other debunked theories.

He has repeatedly demonstrated dramatic, erratic behavior, an inability to conform to societal norms, and an unwillingness to appreciate the consequences of his actions.

He abides by his own belief system, acts accordingly regardless of the criminal consequences, and brings others along with him.

His ability and willingness to conform his behavior to pre-trial supervision conditions appears to be virtually nil.
—U.S. Attorney's Office memorandum charging Angeli with two felonies for his actions in the 2021 U.S. Capitol riot[1]

Jake Angeli (real name: Jacob Anthony Angeli Chansley) (1987–)[2] is an American conspiracy theorist and QAnon protest figure from Phoenix, Arizona. He is known by the nom de plume QAnon Shaman (usually shortened to Q Shaman), due to being a self-proclaimed "shaman" (it has recently been rebranded to America's Shaman).[3] In practice, this means appearing in public wearing elaborate costumes and screaming about Satan-worshipping pedophiles controlling the world (i.e., Pizzagate).[4]

In a previous incarnation, Chansley was in the Navy from 2005-2007 and has what one may presume was a less-than-honorable discharge for refusing to take an anthrax vaccine.[5]

He first gained infamy in the fact-checker community for his frequent appearances at protests, usually pro-Trump or anti-lockdown, where he would appear wearing a "Shaman dress" which consists of a coyote-fur headdress with bovine horns and red-white-and-blue facepaint. He is also tattooed with several Norse mythological and religious symbols (e.g., a large Asatru MjöllnirWikipedia) popular among the neopagan far-right, despite being a Christian. For the general public, he got his big break during the 2021 U.S. Capitol riot. In September 2021, he pleaded guilty to corruptly obstructing, influencing, or impeding an official proceeding, a joint session of Congress,[6] and in November 2021 he was given a 41 month prison sentence.[7] In March of 2023, however, Angeli was given an early release.[8]

In November 2023 Angeli announced his intention to run for Congress in the 2024 election cycle as a Libertarian Party candidate.[9]

Participation in the Capitol insurrection attempt[edit]

See the main article on this topic: 2021 U.S. Capitol riot

Angeli suddenly found himself thrust into the mainstream spotlight when he participated in the 2021 U.S. Capitol riot, where he was photographed storming into the U.S. Capitol dressed in full regalia and armed with a spear.[WTF?!] He was promptly listed by the D.C. police as a person-of-interest due to not bothering to hide his identity[10] and was arrested on federal charges of "knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, and with violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds".[11]

During the insurrection, Chansley gave a prayer in the Senate chamber that referenced Christian nationalist ideology, that the country would be "reborn" "In Christ’s holy name".[12]:34

Betrayal by his own tribe[edit]

After being swiftly identified and arrested by authorities, Angeli was subsequently thrown under the bus by his fellow QAnoners and Trump supporters. Many of them were quick to accuse him of being an Antifa agent provocateur (based on cropped down pictures from a BLM protest, which he was actually protesting against; the cropping left out his QAnon sign[13] because that obviously wouldn't have helped the far-right cover their asses and maintain their "moral high ground" when they got caught), despite all evidence pointing to the contrary. Angeli was not amused.[14]

New Age wackjob[edit]

Prior to his arrest, Angeli was a minor New Age figure. He claimed to have become a "self-initiated shaman” following ingestion of magic mushrooms and peyote.[15] He has claimed to have had "numerous paranormal and UFO experiences".[16] At the same time, he had an obsession with finding pedophilia codes wherever he drove, which either derived from his QAnon obsession or fed into it.[15]

In September 2019, he led a cheer in support of a climate strike march.[15]

In October 2019, he was on "Cosmic Gaia Podcast", where he talked about "Timelines, fractals, DNA, California fires, dark weaponry and rising above it and also these amazing patches he sells that helped to cure his father of late-stage cancer and liver disease."[16] The patches in question were alternative medicine hokum from Life-Wave that claim to use phototherapy and which Angeli claimed was a panacea.[16][17]

In August 2020, he offered a "red pill party" at an astrology store.[15]

By late 2020, he offered something on Facebook and elsewhere called "Star Seed Academy — the Enlightenment and Ascension Mystery School",[15][18] in which he recommended the use of psychedelic plants in lieu of evidence-based pharmaceuticals.[19]

During a podcast interview while Angeli was in prison, he compared himself to both Jesus and MLK.[20]

During his pre-riot phase, he also went by the names Yellowstone Wolf, Loan Wolf, and AlphaMale.[15]

If all of this sounds fucked up, well, there's actually a name for it, conspirituality, which is the overlap of the New Age, conspiracy culture, and the far right.[21][22][23] So in a sense QAnon was a perfect target for Angeli: all of his nutty ideas reflect right off the map.

Life behind the costume[edit]

When not wearing his super-shaman getup, in real life Angeli is a failed actor who still lives with his mother at age 33,[24][25] and went on a hunger strike in jail because the guards would not feed him organic food.[26] Crying about it seems to have worked, and he was reportedly fed his special-needs diet.[27]

In an 18-page briefing against releasing Angeli on bail, the prosecutors argued that the coup plotters intended to capture and assassinate government officials based on a note that Angeli left on Vice President Mike Pence's desk that stated, "It’s only a matter of time, justice is coming."[28][29] Prosecutors also presented as evidence of mental instability and further against bail a partial transcript from one of Angeli's YouTube videos:

So in order to beat this evil occultic force you need a light occultic force you need an occultic force that is of the side of God of love on like almost like on the side of the Angels OK as opposed to the demons all right and so as a shaman I am like a multi-dimensional or hyper-dimensional being okay I am able to perceive multiple different frequencies of light beyond my five senses and it allows me to see into these other higher dimensions that these entities these pedophiles these rapists these murderers these really high up people that they almost like hide in the shadows in nobody can see that because the third eye ain't open okay and that's where things like fluoride and stuff like that comes in so the horns the horns are hey man you mess with the Buffalo you get the horns bro and if you ever tried messing with the Buffalo that doesn't work out too well for many people this right here this is coyote skin according to the Navajo the coyote is like the trickster almost like almost like a benevolent force so I'm wearing the skin of the trickster I got two tails here okay so the trickster messed with the bull got the horns okay and the face paint is representative of the Native American tradition of like donning on warpaint of some sort only this is only this is a war that is of like a spiritual nature okay so because it's a war of a spiritual nature you need symbolism okay in the symbolism here for me is you got the blood on the sign the bullet holes Q sent me this shows the the the secret war in the behind the scene. Hey if you don’t know who Q is Q is the highest levels of the military in the intelligence community disseminating above top secret information to pay attention to the republic so we can take our country back from globalists and communists and satanists.[28]

In speaking to The Washington Post before his arrest, Angeli attempted to explain his motivation to mere mortals (and perhaps alluding to the Washington, D.C. street design conspiracy theory):

What we did on Jan. 6 in many ways was an evolution in consciousness, because as we marched down the street along these ley lines, shouting 'USA' or shouting things like 'freedom' … we were actually affecting the quantum realm.

In May 2021, a judge ordered Angeli to undergo psychiatric evaluation following claims by his lawyer that imprisonment has been taking a toll on Angeli's mental health.[30] Said lawyer then went on to insult many of the defendants in the case by calling them "fucking short bus people with cases of brain damage."[30]

While in prison Angeli made affects to the claim that he felt "betrayed" by Trump and QAnon, but claims that's no longer true, as the Arizona Mirror explains:

Leading up to Chansley's plea and sentencing, his lawyer at the time, Al Watkins, said publicly that Chansley felt duped by former President Donald Trump and that he renounced QAnon. But Chansley told the Mirror that neither of those things were true.[31]

As of January 2024, the FBI has yet to return the horned fur headdress that made Angeli infamous.[20] Angeli is unsurprisingly pissed at this[note 1] and has demanded the feds return the headdress.[20] Angeli's contention is that the feds are violating procedure by retaining his headdress as evidence even though the "case is over."[20] This is quite ironic coming from a man convicted of participating in a literal coup attempt, the ultimate violation of procedure.

Getting on that grift grindset[edit]

Milking that screaming buffalo for all it's worth.

After his release from prison in March of 2023, Angeli has rebranded himself as "America's Shaman." He has released multiple conspiracist-themed podcasts, selling shaman-themed merchandise, and is providing hour-long coaching services for "only" five hundred dollars per session "in the wide ranging subjects of spirituality, politics, the environment, astrology, history, philosophy, and sociology."[32] What are his qualifications, you ask? PIDOOMA, we answer!

Shortly after his release from the halfway house he was holed up at after his early release from prison, Angeli posted a video to Twitter having abandoned the horns and faux-shaman getup for a "flag-themed bandana" and tie, talking about his prison experiences in a manner suspiciously similar to an "infomercial salesman"[3]:

One of the most important things I learned is patience. See, the world is currently going through turmoil, the likes of which many of us are not prepared for by our schools, by our governments and our cultural upbringing. However, patience is key if we are to overcome the obstacles before us and simultaneously turn them into opportunities for unity, love and peace.[33]

Of course, another lesson provided by his prison experience is the chance to earn cold hard cash courtesy of his new webshite "Forbidden Truth Academy".[34]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. It would help his "brand" immensely if he got the thing back.

References[edit]

  1. Bill Chappell, U.S. Says Rioters At Capitol Aimed 'To Capture And Assassinate Elected Officials'. NPR, 15 January 2021.
  2. United States Department of Justice, Statement of facts, Jacob Anthony Chansley, 8 January 2021.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Roberts, Laurie (May 31, 2023). "'QAnon Shaman' Jake Angeli says he's a new man – and he's got merch to sell you". AZ Central. 
  4. Rich Schapiro and Michael Kosnar, Capitol rioter in horned hat gloats as feds work to identify suspects. NBC News, 7 January 2021.
  5. The ‘QAnon shaman’ guy got kicked out of the Navy for refusing a vaccine: Somebody didn't read their Oath of Enlistment. by James Clark (Jan 12, 2021 1:59 PM) Task & Purpose.
  6. 'QAnon Shaman' Jacob Chansley, face of pro-Trump Capitol riot, pleads guilty to felony by Spencer S. Hsu (September 3, 2021) The Washington Post.
  7. Jake Angeli, aka QAnon shaman, sentenced to 41 months in Jan. 6 Capitol riot by Richard Ruelas (November 17, 2021, 10:08 AM) Arizona Republic via Yahoo News.
  8. 'QAnon shaman' Jake Angeli released from prison to halfway house by Richard Ruelas, March 30, 2023, Arizona Central through Yahoo News
  9. "Former "QAnon Shaman" apparently running for Congress". CBS News. November 13, 2023 at 5:50 AM (EST). 
  10. Jake Angeli: The story behind the horned Arizona protester in the Capitol unrest. kvoa.com, 7 January 2021.
  11. United States Department of Justice, Three Men Charged in Connection with Events at U.S. Capitol, 9 January 2021.
  12. Attack on The Capitol: Evidence of the Role of White Christian Nationalism by Andrew L. Seidel (2022) Christians Against Christian Nationalism. Pages 25-40.
  13. Trump supporters falsely claim a far-right activist at the US Capitol is actually a member of 'Antifa', Business Insider, January 7, 2021
  14. The 'Q Shaman' who stormed the Capitol is upset Trump supporters are claiming he's 'Antifa' in disguise Yahoo! News, January 11, 2021
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 A Closer Look at the 'QAnon Shaman' Leading the Mob: Conspirituality — in which New Age wellness meets conspiracy culture — helped stoke the riot on Capitol Hill by Jules Evans (January 7, 2021) Medium.
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 Jake Angeli - Keys for our Ascension (October 28, 2019) Cosmic Gaia Podcast (archived from January 10, 2021).
  17. Y-Age Aeon Life-Wave (archived from 30 Mar 2021 03:15:17 UTC).
  18. About the Author Star Seed Academy Blog Site (archived from January 7, 2021).
  19. Neo-Shamanism: A New Way of Seeing the World Star Seed Academy Blog Site (archived from January 7, 2021).
  20. 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 Daly, Michael (January 6, 2024). "‘Qanon Shaman’ Demands the FBI Return the Horns He Wore During Riot". The Daily Beast. 
  21. The Emergence of Conspirituality by Charlotte Ward & David Voas (2011) Journal of Contemporary Religion 26(1):103-121. doi:10.1080/13537903.2011.539846.
  22. QAnon's Unexpected Roots in New Age Spirituality: Masculinity, faith and the strange convergence of counterculture and hate by Marisa Meltzer (March 29, 2021) The Washington Post Magazine.
  23. Inside Kelly Brogan’s Covid-Denying, Vax-Resistant Conspiracy Machine: Alt-health meets alt-right in the ‘conspirituality’ movement by Matthew Remski (Sep 15, 2020) Medium.
  24. The man in the center with the fur hat and painted face is a QAnon believer from Arizona named Jake Angeli. He was a small-time actor, voice over artist, and singer before he joined the movement. Here's a photo of him out of costume. by Nick Martin (11:40 AM - 6 Jan 2021) Twitter (archived from 6 Jan 2021 23:03:03 UTC).
  25. Horned Capitol rioter is ‘failed actor and QAnon conspiracy theorist who lives with his mother’ — report, Independent, 10 January, 2021
  26. Shirtless, Horned Capitol Rioter Jake Angeli Demands Organic Food In Jail: He has refused to eat nonorganic food, claiming he requires a shamanic diet. by Ed Mazza (01/12/2021 03:38 am ET) Huffington Post.
  27. Q Shaman to be fed organic diet, FoxNews.
  28. 28.0 28.1 Rioters wanted to ‘capture and assassinate’ lawmakers, prosecutors say. A note left by the 'QAnon Shaman' is evidence. by Teo Armus (Jan. 15, 2021 at 3:53 a.m. PST) The Washington Post.
  29. United States of America, plaintiff, vs. Jacob Anthony Chansley, a.k.a. “Jacob Angeli,”Defendant. by Michael Bailey & Kristen Brook (Filed 01/14/21) United States Court for the District of Arizona.
  30. 30.0 30.1 Judge orders mental evaluation of Qanon Shaman after lawyer insults "short bus" defendants
  31. Caitlan Sievers, ‘QAnon Shaman’ looks to overturn sentence, says he never renounced QAnon. AZMirror, 22 June 2023.
  32. Sandlin, Jennifer (June 23, 2023). "You can buy a one-hour coaching session with the QAnon Shaman for a mere $500–what are you waiting for?". Boing Boing. 
  33. Archived version of Angeli's press release
  34. The webshite in question