A federal judge on Monday ordered the Justice Department to return the spear and horned helmet worn by Jacob Chansley, the self-proclaimed “QAnon Shaman,” during the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Chansley, who served a 41-month prison sentence for his role in the attack, had requested the return of the items confiscated at his arrest, including a “horned coyote-tail headdress” and a “six-foot pole with an American flag attached and a metal spearhead.”
The Justice Department argued that these items, used to project strength during the Capitol assault, should remain in federal custody.
However, Judge Royce Lamberth ruled in Chansley’s favor, noting that Chansley had completed his prison sentence and much of his supervised release.
Since the government did not demonstrate a continued need for the items as evidence or pursue their forfeiture, the judge granted the return of Chansley’s “unmistakable outfit.” The ruling comes amid ongoing prosecutions of over 1,265 individuals charged in the Capitol attack, with more than 718 guilty pleas and over 460 incarcerations.
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