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The lawyer for the so-called “QAnon Shaman” who stormed the US Capitol shirtless and wearing a horned bear skin headdress said his client regretted being “duped” by the former President Donald Trump, and that the former president “invited” his client and thousands of other supporters to Capitol Hill on January 6.
Albert Watkins, attorney for Jacob Anthony Chansley, did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment on Saturday, but told KSDK-TV his client “very much regretted not only being duped by the President , but to be in a position where he allowed this deception to enable him to make decisions that he shouldn’t have made. ”
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Watkins argued that Chansley was practically “invited” by Trump to Capitol Hill to protest the presidential election results and prompted by Trump’s rhetoric to take extreme measures to “stop the theft.”
“Let’s roll the tape. Let’s roll the months of lies, misrepresentation and horrific insinuations and hyperbolic rhetoric from our president intended to ignite, enrage, motivate,” Watkins told the outlet.
“What is really curious is the reality that our president, in a public way, invited these people, as president, to go to the Capitol with him”, he added.
In the hours leading up to the Jan.6 attack on Capitol Hill that left five people dead – including a Capitol Police officer – Trump staged a “Stop the Steal” rally, encouraging his supporters to “fight” for the “stolen elections”. ”
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Shortly afterwards, insurgents broke into the Capitol building and interrupted a joint session of Congress to certify the results of President Biden’s election.
In the aftermath of the violent event, the FBI launched a massive investigation to bring together participants at the siege.
Chansley is being held in an Arizona jail awaiting charges of disorderly conduct, violent entry and illegally staying in tight spaces on the Capitol in Washington, DC, authorities say.
Watkins previously asked former President Trump to forgive Chansley before stepping down.
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Although he has granted dozens of pardons to his political allies and even rapper Lil Wayne, Trump hasn’t forgiven anyone who stormed Capitol Hill earlier this month.
Watkins said he and Chansley were not “holding their breath” for a pardon, but believed Trump would grant one in recognition of the loyalty of his supporters.
“The request was of extraordinary value in that it gave Trump an opportunity to do what his supporters thought was the ‘honorable’ thing to do,” Watkins said.
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“It would be appropriate and honorable for the President to forgive Mr. Chansley and other peaceful like-minded people who accepted the President’s invitation with honorable intentions,” he added.
Chansley’s mother Marth Chansley told Fox News she had “no comments” at this time.
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