Musk, who co-founded Twitter, has advocated for the release of “Qanon Shaman” Jacob Chansley. In a court ruling dated January 6, 2021, Chansley was found guilty of trespassing on Capitol Hill.
Chansley is heard encouraging former President Trump’s fans to “go home” and “follow our president” in a new film on the Hill incident. Musk posted a video on his Instagram Friday night with the caption “free Jacob Chansley.”
“I’m not a part of MAGA, but I do believe in the fairness of justice,” Musk remarked in response to someone who indicated he was in the MAGA movement. “The portrayal of Chansley as a violent criminal who incited others to overthrow the government was inaccurate. But, he has now ordered everyone to stop their commotion and go home.”
According to Musk, new footage of the Capitol building riot shows Chansley “calmly walking in the Capitol building” under the protection of Capitol officers.
On Saturday, Musk responded to a second video posted by Chansley. As Chansley put it in the interview, he had prevented Capitol theft by “getting muffins out of the break room.” When asked about his one and only “really significant regret,” Chansley responded that he had initially believed that it was appropriate for him and others to enter after being waved in.
During the interview, Musk was asked about the incident, to which he said, “Let him out,” before adding, “This shaman/muffin guardian is not going to overturn the state.” Musk declared, “We’ve identified the muffin man!”
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy provided Tucker Carlson, of Fox News, with access to over 40,000 hours of audio and video recordings. Carlson uploaded a fresh video of Chansley performing in the Capitol on Monday (R-CA). Two cops can be seen escorting Chansley to the Senate floor, where he appears in several iconic photographs.
On Monday, Carlson said that the congressman’s “nearly every second” spent in the Capitol was documented. According to the tapes, Capitol Police never detained Jacob Chansley. They played a key role in making it happen. It seemed as if they were tour guides, from his perspective.
A leading defense attorney, Harvey Silverglate of Boston, told the Washington Examiner that Carlson’s video appearing to show U.S. Capitol Police escorting Chansley was an indication that he would try to get out of his guilty plea, which was negotiated down to a single count of obstruction of an official proceeding and got him 41 months in prison.
“I think he can get his guilty plea thrown out,” Silverglate, who represented John Eastman and is an expert in criminal defense and civil liberties, said of Chansley. So yet, Chansley hasn’t filed for an appeal or requested a new trial.