...'transient schizophrenia, bipolar, depression and anxiety'
[basically calling him a 'nutball']
image
https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/02/04/21/37803176-0-Jacob_Anthony_Chansley_was_moved_from_the_DC_Department_of_Corre-m-2_1612473575097.jpg
more at
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9817959/QAnon-Shaman-plea-negotiations-mental-health-diagnosis-lawyer.html
*Jacob Chansley, who is nicknamed the 'QAnon Shaman', was photographed storming
the Capitol in face paint and a horned headdress
*He was arrested in February and is facing years behind bars after being slapped
with six charges
*Chansley is currently being held behind bars as he awaits trial, but his
defense lawyer said Thursday he could cut a plea deal
*Prison psychologists have reportedly diagnosed Chansley with transient
schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and anxiety
The 'QAnon Shaman' who stormed the U.S. Capitol during the January 6 riot is
negotiating a possible plea deal with prosecutors, after prison psychologists
found he suffers from a variety of mental illnesses.
Jacob Chansley, 33, is perhaps the most recognizable of the 535 people arrested
over the riot after he was photographed inside the government building in face
paint and a distinctive horned headdress.
The conspiracy theorist was arrested on six federal charges, including violent
entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
Chansley is facing years in prison if found guilty, and is currently being held
behind bars ahead of his trial.
However, in an interview with Reuters, Chansley's defense lawyer Albert Watkins
said that it's possible his client could cut a plea deal after officials at the
federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) diagnosed him with transient schizophrenia,
bipolar disorder, depression and anxiety.
Chansley, of Arizona, is a supporter of the QAnon conspiracy theory that casts
President Trump as a savior figure and elite Democrats as a cabal of Satanist
pedophiles and cannibals.
Watkins said his client has expressed some delusions including 'believing that
he was indeed related directly to Jesus and Buddha.'
Watkins says the BOP's findings, which have not yet been made public, suggest
Chansley's mental condition has deteriorated due to the stress of being held in
solitary confinement at a jail in Alexandria, Virginia.
'As he spent more time in solitary confinement... the decline in his acuity was
noticeable, even to an untrained eye,' Watkins stated.
'What we've done is we've taken a guy who is unarmed, harmless, peaceful... with
a pre-existing mental vulnerability of significance, and we've rendered him a
chocolate soup mess,' Watkins said.
The BOP in 2017 was faulted by the Justice Department's inspector general for
its use of special housing units to confine inmates with mental illness, and the
BOP agreed to place limits on the amount of time inmates remain in restrictive
housing and to ensure they have meaningful human contact.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic led the BOP to step up its use of solitary
housing units as a way to quarantine inmates to contain the spread of the virus.
Meanwhile Watkins says Chansley's 2006 mental health records from his time in
the U.S. Navy show a similar diagnosis to the BOP's.
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office declined to comment on the case.
Meanwhile, Watkins did not say what specific charges Chansley was considering
pleading guilty to, but defendants negotiating plea deals typically seek to
plead to a less serious charge to reduce their potential prison sentences.
Watkins said authorities will need to determine how Chansley can get access to
the treatment he needs to 'actively participate in his own defense.' Pleading
guilty to a charge negates the need for a trial, but defendants still have to be
declared mentally competent to do so.
Watkins said the BOP's evaluation of his client did not declare Chansley to be
mentally incompetent, and he does not expect Chansley to be ordered to undergo
what is known as competency restoration treatment.
Federal prosecutors have arrested 535 people on charges of taking part in the
violence, which saw rioters battle police, smash windows and send members of
Congress and then-Vice President Mike Pence running for safety.
About 20 defendants so far have pleaded guilty to federal charges in connection
with the attack, according to a government tally.
Earlier this week, the first person sentenced to hard time for playing a role in
the riot was seen saying an emotional farewell to his girlfriend just a day
after he admitted his guilt in court.
Paul Hodgkins, 38, received an eight-month sentence and was ordered to pay
$2,000 restitution after cutting a plea deal with prosecutors.
Prosecutors had asked for 18 months, his defense called for no prison time. The
maximum sentence was 20 years.
In return for his guilty plea, prosecutors dropped charges of entering a
restricted building and disorderly conduct.
*