A federal judge denied a request by so-called "QAnon Shaman" Jacob Chansley to vacate his guilty plea.
U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth found that Chansley "quite sensibly" pleaded guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding, saying the evidence against him was extraordinary, and said he was not persuaded by videos aired by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson from the U.S. Capitol riot, reported Politico's Kyle Cheney.
"These videos are decidedly not exculpatory, especially when viewed in context with the "miles and miles of footage" recorded of Mr. Chansley on January 6, 2021," Lambert wrote. "Such footage, conveniently omitted by the March 6, 2023, program shows nearly all of Mr. Chansley's actions that day, including: carrying a six-foot long pole armed with a spearhead, unlawfully entering the Capitol through a broken door, disobeying orders from law enforcement on more than a half-dozen occasions, entering the Senate chamber, climbing onto the Senate dais, sitting in the Vice President's chair, and leaving a threatening message for the Vice President."
Chansley was sentenced in November 2021 to 41 months in prison as part of the plea agreement but was released May 25, in part due to good behavior, but the judge said he would have sentenced him to a longer term if he had the opportunity today.
Lambert singled out Carlson's broadcasts as "replete with misstatements and misrepresentations ... too numerous to count."