Jacob Chansley, who is known as the “QAnon Shaman,” would be willing to testify that he was incited to allegedly storm the Capitol by the then-president, according to attorney Albert Watkins. “QAnon Shaman” is a name that references the far right conspiracy theory known as QAnon.
Watkins said his client has not yet made contact with any members of the Senate.
In a statement to The Hill, Watkins confirmed that his client would be willing to testify during the Senate impeachment trial.
Trump was impeached by the House for a second time earlier in January for his role in the violent riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Trump made remarks before the attack, encouraging a group of his supporters on the National Mall to march to the Capitol and demand that Congress halt its certification of President Biden’s electoral victory.
Trump is the only president to be impeached twice in U.S. history. His Senate impeachment trial is slated to begin in February.
During the riot, hundreds of rioters, including Chansley, were photographed inside the Capitol building. Chansley was arrested on Jan. 9 and later charged with civil disorder, obstruction of official proceedings and disorderly conduct in a restricted building. He is set to be arraigned Friday and has yet to enter a plea.
Court records indicate Chansley told investigators he attended the riot specifically “at the request of the president that all ‘patriots’ come to D.C. on January 6,” according to the AP.
Watkins told the AP that after Trump failed to pardon him or other participants in the insurrection, his client “felt like he was betrayed by the president.”
The attorney last week said that his client felt that he had been “duped” by Trump.
“He regrets very, very much having not just been duped by the president but by being in a position where he allowed that duping to put him in a position to make decisions he should not have made,” Watkins said, according to Missouri’s NBC-affiliated television station KSDK.