Jan. 6 “QAnon Shaman” is running for Congress

Jacob Chansley, the man known as the “QAnon Shaman,” who was sentenced to three years in prison back in 2021 for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, has furthered his plans to run for Congress. 

According to NBC15, using information sourced from CNN, “Chansley has filed paperwork to run as a libertarian in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District,” campaigning for an opening made available after U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko opted out of reelection to focus on spending more time with her family. 

As AZcentral highlights, “Arizona law prohibits people convicted of felonies from voting until they have completed their sentence and had their civil rights restored. But the U.S. Constitution does not prohibit felons from holding federal office.” After his sentencing in 2021, Chansley was released to a halfway house and claims to have since disavowed the QAnon movement.

If he does in fact move forward with his plan, Chansley will be running against Ben Toma, Arizona House Speaker; Blake Masters, who lost a 2022 bid for U.S. Senate; Abe Hamadeh, a 2022 candidate for Arizona Attorney General; state Sen. Anthony Kern of Glendale, who AZcentral points out was also at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021; Trent Franks, who resigned from the seat amid controversy in 2017; Seth Coates; Isiah Gallegos; Jimmy Rodriguez; Rollie Stevens; and Brandon Urness.