Chansley is known for being one of the most recognizable members of the crowd that breached the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 while wearing a horned hat, face paint and no shirt. His actions that day led to a 41-month prison sentence, a portion of which he served at the Federal Correctional Institute in Safford. He was released early in March to a half-way house, and returned to his home in the Valley on probation in May 2023. Chansley sought to vacate the ruling, citing dubious reporting by former Fox anchor Tucker Carlson.
On Feb. 20, Kern introduced Chansley and others as his guests at the Arizona Senate. Kern himself is tied to the events of Jan. 6 as he was photographed in areas of the Capitol that rioters breached. Kern has stated on multiple occasions that he never entered the Capitol itself. Other senators, like Goodyear Republican Janae Shamp, were also present that day.
“I was looking at (Kern’s) guests and thinking ‘wow that guy looks familiar,’” Sen. Priya Sundareshan, D-Tucson, told the Arizona Mirror, saying it didn’t hit her at first that Chansley was the infamous QAnon Shaman.
According to Sundareshan, Chansley was given access to the Senate lounge, an area that the public is generally not allowed, where the Jan. 6 attendee spoke with other lawmakers like Flagstaff Republican Sen. Wendy Rogers.
Prior to his role in the Jan. 6 riot, Chansley was familiar to those at the Arizona Capitol for his activism at political events and demonstrations where he’d be dressed in his “shaman” attire along with a sign that read “Q Sent Me.”
In its simplest form, the complex and damaging QAnon conspiracy theory alleges that a cabal of Satan-worshiping pedophiles are running a global sex-trafficking ring, control world governments and are trying to bring down former President Donald Trump — who is himself single-handedly dismantling the cabal.
Sundareshan said the “normalcy” with which Chansley was addressed by members of the Senate was “jarring” and said she hopes that it doesn’t lead to Republicans inviting other Jan. 6 rioters to the Arizona Senate.
“I hope we don’t see a whole parade of others coming but he is, of course, the most prominent symbol,” Sundareshan said.
Chansley is attempting a run for Arizona Congressional District 8 as a Libertarian, a seat for which Kern is also looking to run as a Republican.
Chansley gave testimony at a Senate Appropriations Committee meeting on Feb. 20, and commented on Senate Bill 1480, which raises the annual salary of the governor, secretary of state, state treasurer and attorney general. Chansley opposed the bill, saying that politicians have not earned a raise. The committee approved the measure in a 5-4-1 vote, but it has since stalled in the Senate.
The Mirror reached out to Kern and Chansley for comment but did not receive a reply.
Sundareshan said that Chansley’s appearance is a “stark reminder that (Democrats and Republicans) are kind of taking our cues from very different places.”
This story was first published by Arizona Mirror, which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Follow Arizona Mirror on Facebook and Twitter.
Jerod MacDonald-Evoy | Arizona Mirror
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