WASHINGTON – A man who stormed the Capitol while wearing face paint, no shirt, and a furry hat with horns was moved to a Virginia prison on Thursday after a federal judge ordered authorities to give him organic food while he was in custody.
Jacob Chansley was transferred to the Alexandria Detention Center after his attorney alleged that his client had not eaten for nine days because organic food was not served in the Washington prison. A judge ordered correction officers to provide for the special diet.
Chansley has lost 20 pounds since being transferred from Arizona to Washington last week, his attorney, Albert Watkins, told the judge. Chansley, who calls himself the ‘QAnon Shaman,’ considers eating organic foods part of his ‘shamanic belief system and way of life,’ the lawyer said.
On Thursday, US District Judge Royce Lamberth said the US Marshals Service had told the court that the District of Columbia Department of Corrections had asked to relocate Chansley because they were unable to comply with the court’s order to give him organic food.
The judge said prison officials in nearby Alexandria were fit for the special diet.
Chansley was charged with civil disorder, obstruction, disorderly conduct and other charges for his role in the riot at the Capitol on January 6. He was among a group of hundreds of pro-Trump supporters who attacked outnumbered police officers and stormed the Capitol as Congress rallied to vote to confirm Joe Biden’s election victory.
Chansley told investigators he had come to the Capitol “at the request of the president that all ‘patriots’ come to Washington on January 6,” court records said.
The FBI identified Chansley based on images captured during the riot showing his signature tattoos. Chansley was in the Capitol and on the Senate podium carrying an American flag on a pole topped with a spear. Authorities said he had also written a threatening letter to then-Vice President Mike Pence.