'Experiencing tyranny firsthand': Where the QAnon Shaman and other J6 rioters are today

06 January

President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to pardon defendants who were present during the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol Building. While many Trump critics — from Democrats to Never Trump conservatives — have described those defendants as "insurrectionists," Trump considers them political prisoners and "hostages."

Some of the January 6 defendants were charged with violent crimes; others, however, were present in the Capitol that day but weren't accused of any acts of violence. The federal charges against the defendants have ranged from major felonies to misdemeanors.

In an article published on January 6, 2025 — the fourth anniversary of the 2021 attack — the New York Times' Alan Feuer takes a look at some of the defendants who have finished serving their sentences.

"In the past four years," Feuer explains, "nearly 1600 people have been prosecuted in connection with the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Some were accused of felonies like assault or seditious conspiracy and are still in prison. But hundreds charged with lesser crimes have wrapped up their cases and returned to their lives."

One of the January 6 defendants Feuer describes is Jacob Chansley, a.k.a. the QAnon Shaman.

"Moving with the first wave of rioters," Feuer reports, "(Chansley) left a threatening note on the Senate floor for Vice President Mike Pence, who had to be hustled to safety as the mob overwhelmed the Capitol. Yet, like others who disrupted the election certification that day, Mr. Chansley seeks to cast the 41-month sentence he received as 'experiencing tyranny firsthand.'"

Other January 6 defendants Feuer mentions include Eric Clark (who received a five-month prison sentence), Daniel Christmann (who served a 25-day sentence) and Casey Cusick (who served a brief 10-day sentence), Couy Griffin (who was sentenced to two weeks), and Dallas real estate broker Jenna Ryan.

On January 7, 2021, Ryan bragged about her role in the Capitol attack on X, formerly Twitter, and posted, "We just stormed the Capitol. It was one of the best days of my life."

Ryan was later sentenced to 60 days in prison

Feuer notes, "She claims that she was treated harshly because of her 'public profile' as a January 6 defendant. But being sentenced for illegally demonstrating in the Capitol also allowed her to fulfill what she describes as her 'lifelong goal of being a writer and a speaker.' Ms. Ryan, 54, has written a book called 'Storming the Capitol: My Truth About January 6th,' which she says 'shows how it feels to be caught in the middle of a polarized political climate, canceled by society, surveilled by the FBI and thrown in prison for a tweet.'"

Read the full New York Times article at this link (subscription required).

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