PHOENIX — Jacob Chansley, the spear-carrying rioter whose horned fur hat, naked chest and face paint made him one of many extra recognizable figures within the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, apparently aspires to be a member of Congress.
Online paperwork reveals the 35-year-old Chansley filed a candidate assertion of curiosity Thursday, indicating he needs to run as a Libertarian in subsequent yr’s election for Arizona’s eighth Congressional District seat.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko, a 64-year-old Republican representing the district since 2018, introduced final month that she gained’t search re-election. Her time period formally ends in January 2025.
Chansley pleaded responsible to a felony cost of obstructing an official continuing in reference to the Capitol riot.
He was sentenced to 41 months in jail in November 2021 and served about 27 months earlier than being transferred to a Phoenix midway home in March 2023. Chansely grew up within the larger Phoenix space.
Chansley is among the many greater than 700 individuals who have been sentenced in relation to Capitol riot-related federal crimes. Authorities stated Chansley was among the many first rioters to enter the Capitol constructing and he acknowledged utilizing a bullhorn to awaken the mob.
Although he beforehand known as himself the “QAnon Shaman,” Chansley has since disavowed the QAnon motion.
He recognized himself as Jacob Angeli-Chansley within the candidate assertion of curiosity paperwork filed with the Arizona Secretary of State’s workplace.
The U.S. Constitution doesn’t prohibit felons from holding federal workplace. But Arizona legislation prohibits felons from voting till they’ve accomplished their sentence and had their civil rights restored.
Emails despatched to Chansley and his lawyer in search of touch upon his political intentions weren’t instantly returned Sunday.
