Jacob Chansley, also known as “QAnon Shaman”, was released from prison on Thursday after serving less than 27 months of a three-and-a-half-year sentence.
After Tucker Carlson released a video of him being taken around the building by police officers, it brought a lot more attention to his case. We also reported on the fact that he had at one point in the riot urged people not to behave violently and to return home.
Here’s the video of Capitol police escorting Jacob Chansley through the Capitol that freed him 14 months early.
Thank you Tucker Carlson for telling the truth Democrats desperately tried to hide. pic.twitter.com/KmYUCBXxWv
— Cassandra (@CassyWearsHeels) March 30, 2023
Free Jacob Chansley https://t.co/8BbeXF2Fye
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 10, 2023
Many people were interested in Chansley’s videos and called for his release. After seeing the videos, Elon Musk demanded that Chansley be released.
He was not released for this reason. Many people don’t know what goes into the calculation of a sentence. If a prisoner serves time before the sentence, he gets the credit. He also gets credit for good behavior — this credit is available to everyone, except those who are terribly in prison. Chansley was granted a reduction in that case.
William Shipley, his attorney, confirmed that that is why he was released so early. He said that it had nothing to do with the Carlson Video and that he was going to spend the last six months in a halfway house per the Bureau of Prisons.
Bureau of Prison records confirm that Chansley is under the care of the Residential Reentry Management Field Office in Phoenix. This contract with halfway houses helps inmates prepare to re-enter society.
DailyMail.com reached out to the BOP spokesperson for clarification but they did not respond immediately.
Perhaps it’s instructive to the public to know that if you see someone get a sentence like this, they will serve less time than you might think. You get credit both for the “good time” you have had and for any time you served prior to your sentence. This is how a sentence of 3 1/2 years can be reduced. It’s not a benefit that he’s receiving, but it’s normal system functioning.
However, Carlson’s videos were a valuable reminder that not all facts have been disclosed and that Chansley had not received this video — that of Carlson being taken around by police and thanking God for his help — to his attorneys. If the DOJ knew, that’s a problem. Potentially exculpatory evidence cannot be withheld from the defense. You must turn it in. There is still a lot of potential evidence that could be used to support the defense. If it had been turned over, it might have been a major factor in his case or his sentencing.
What other “videos,” if any, might show similar information for Jan. 6 defendants as well?
