Twitter CEO Elon Musk called for the prison release of Jacob Chansley, known as the “QAnon Shaman,” after watching footage from the Capitol protests of Jan. 6, 2021.
Fox News host Tucker Carlson released the footage given to him by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
Musk posted the words; “Free Jacob Chansley” on his Twitter page after footage showed Chansley reading former President Donald Trump’s tweet to the crowds on Jan. 6, telling them to “go home and remain peaceful.”
Free Jacob Chansley https://t.co/8BbeXF2Fye
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 10, 2023
Musk compared Chansley’s situation with a man who assaulted comedian Dave Chappelle during one of his shows.
Chansley got 4 years in prison for a non-violent, police-escorted tour!?
Dave Chapelle was violently assaulted on stage by a guy with a knife. That guy got a $3000 fine & no prison time. https://t.co/qDRWxozD8B
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 10, 2023
Musk assured his followers that he is “not a part of MAGA,” but that he believes in the fairness of justice. He said Chansley was “falsely portrayed” as a violent criminal who tried to overthrow the U.S. government.
I’m not part of MAGA, but I do believe in fairness of justice.
Chansley was falsely portrayed in the media as a violent criminal who tried to overthrow the state and who urged others to commit violence.
But here he is urging people to be peaceful and go home. And the other… https://t.co/XU8vISJaNy
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 11, 2023
In September 2021, Chansley pleaded guilty to one count of obstructing an official proceeding, the certification of the Electoral College votes, and received 41 months in prison.
In the Jan. 6 footage, Chansley was peacefully escorted through the Capitol by law enforcement personnel. Yet he was arrested and federally charged for “knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds with lawful authority, and with violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.”
Carlson aired the footage during a broadcast of his show, “Tucker Carlson Tonight. “He questioned why the officers did not arrest Chansley as they walked with him.
“If he was in fact committing such a grave crime, why didn’t the officers who were standing right next to him place him under arrest?” Carlson asked.
“This tape overturns the single most powerful and politically useful lie that Democrats told us about January 6,” Carlson told viewers.
New York Post columnist Miranda Devine called the charges against Chansley “very sad,” saying that the footage demonstrates that he was “harmless.”
“You can see the way those people were walking through the Capitol… they are walking meekly, politely queuing, very peaceable. They don’t mean any harm. They are treating the Capitol with reverence,” Devine told Carlson.
“That doesn’t excuse the others, the minority of the protesters who did break windows and fight police and injure police and cause mayhem,” she added.
“But the people who are now being picked up and some of them have been jailed without trial for months, even years on end, did not commit violence. They walked through open doors, they were escorted by police, they felt that this was okay. And I think Jacob Chansley is a classic example of that,” she continued.
Chansley was one of 1,000 people arrested during the Capitol protests on Jan. 6. After the footage’s release: many have called Chansley’s imprisonment “unjust.”
