A key participant in the January 6 insurrection at the United States Capitol insurrection last month will be given organic food while he awaits trial in a Washington, D.C. jail.
A federal judge has decided Jacob Chansley, the self-proclaimed "QAnon Shaman," should be given organic food while in jail after Chansley went on an apparent hunger strike while incarcerated last week after claiming non-organic food was against his religion and sickening him, CNN reports.
Chansley's attorney, Al Watkins, said his client hadn't eaten since last Monday (January 25) and had lost 20 pounds as a result of his hunger strike while appearing in court Wednesday (February 3) afternoon.
"My client made it clear that while he did not oppose fasting, he was not in position to put into his body things that shamanism believes to be impure... things that suck the life out of your body," Watkins said.
Watkins also reportedly told the court that his client believes non-organic food "sucks the life out of your body," according to Yahoo! News.
Earlier this month, a federal judge decided Chansley, who was infamously spotted wearing horns and face paint while holding a megaphone during the riots, would remain in jail as he awaits trial after the Justice Department argued that his actions on January 6 "escalated the chaos" and he could not be trusted to appear in court for his trial.
Chansley was initially given organic food while being held in an Arizona jail, but initially had his accommodations request denied by a federal judge after being transferred to a Washington, D.C. jail in January.
Prosecutors said Chansley, who also goes by "Jacob Angeli," went into the Capitol carrying a U.S. flag attached to a wooden pole topped with a spear, ignoring demands by Capitol officers to leave the building and entered the Senate chamber, leaving a threatening note to then-Vice President Mike Pence after Trump criticized his former running mate for not objecting to President Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election.
Chansley has been a fixture at previous rallies for former President Donald Trump rallies and admitted to investigators that he went to the Capitol "at the request of the president that all ‘patriots’ come to D.C. on January 6," according to court records obtained by the Associated Press.
Last month, Watkins said Chansley was willing to provide insight as someone who was incited by Trump during the former president's upcoming impeachment trial, according to the A.P.
On January 6, protesters supporting former President Trump stormed the United States Capitol amid the vote to certify then-President-elect Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election, which led to the death of five individuals and forced elected officials to evacuate the House and Senate chambers before later continuing session in the evening.
An announcement was made inside the Capitol ordering lawmakers to evacuate due to "an external security threat" as dozens of protesters forced their way inside the building, the Associated Press reports.
Both chambers were sent into recess and later resumed at around 8:00 p.m. EST to confirm the nomination of President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris.
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