Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Madeline Sherratt

Even the ‘QAnon Shaman’ has turned on Trump

Jacob Angeli Chansley, also known as the “QAnon Shaman,” has launched a scathing verbal attack on President Trump, as the commander-in-chief continues to deal with the fallout of his administration’s decision not to release the Epstein files.

In 2021, the pictures of Chansley, adorned in a fur Viking horned headdress and red, white, and blue face paint, became a defining image of the Capitol riot.

Four years on, Chansley’s support of the president seems to be over.

“Oh yeah & F*** Israel! And F*** Donald Trump!, Angeli-Chansley wrote on X Wednesday.

Chansley posted a flurry of fiery tweets about Trump, including one that has since been deleted under a Trump post featuring his mugshot.

The tweet, which read “F*** this stupid piece of s***... What a fraud,” was shared by X account Faketriots Watch.

Jacob Anthony Chansley stormed the Capitol along with over 1,500 others on January 6 2021 – but now his sympathies for the president are waning (AP)

Chansley then turned his attention to Hollywood star and Trump supporter James Woods.

“Did you go to Epstein Island too James? Cuz I am beginning to look closer...Didn't your house survive the LA fires too? Nothing about Epstein? You're not holding Trump accountable...I know the routine James...I try to give people their privacy...But I'm gonna let you cook…,” Chansley wrote to the Once Upon a Time in America star.

Jacob Anthony Chansley’s mugshot in the aftermath of the January 6 riot (Alexandria Sheriff’s Office)

The one-time Trump superfan was sentenced to 41 months in prison in November 2021 after he was seen storming the Senate dais, taking selfies in a seat that Vice President Mike Pence had occupied an hour earlier, and scribbling “It’s Only A Matter of Time. Justice Is Coming!” on a piece of paper left on the desk.

“Mike Pence is a f***ing traitor,” he said during the raid.

Chansley then called other rioters up to the dais and led them in an incantation over his bullhorn, according to the Department of Justice.

He was released to a halfway house in 2023. Two years later, Trump pardoned Chansley along with over 1,500 others involved in the rioting that day.

Pressure has been mounting from both Democrats and GOP regarding transparency over the Epstein files (AFP via Getty Images)

In 2021, his support for the president wavered when he offered to testify against Trump, stating that he was one of the many individuals incited by the then-former president’s actions and rhetoric at The Ellipse on January 6.

Ever since an FBI memo was leaked claiming Jeffrey Epstein held “no client list”, MAGA has been split over the truth behind the matter.

GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and a string of conservative pundits, including Tucker Carlson, former Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon, and right-wing podcaster Ben Shapiro, have all taken aim at Trump over the Epstein debacle.

On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal revealed that Pamela Bondi told Trump his name appeared multiple times in the Epstein files after they sifted through a “truckload” of documents related to Epstein in May.

At the heart of QAnon lies the conspiracy that Trump is waging a secret war against elite Satan-worshipping paedophiles in high-profile positions in government, business, and the mainstream media.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.