Thread by @ryanjreilly

THREAD: Sentencing for "QAnon Shaman” Jacob Chansley is now underway before Judge Royce C. Lamberth.

Chansley is in the courtroom in a prison jumpsuit. He now has a pretty lengthy beard, and his head is shaved.

Last week, Judge Lamberth sentenced Scott Fairlamb to 41 months in federal prison. Fairlamb was the son of a New Jersey trooper and the brother of a Secret Service agent. huffpost.com/entry/scott-fa…

"If the defendant had been peaceful on that day, your honor, we would not be here,” says Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Paschall. She says Jacob Chansley gave a "call to battle" in the months ahead of the Capitol attack and engaged in the “chaos” on Jan. 6.

“‘Times up motherfuckers’ is not peaceful, your honor. That’s chilling,” Paschall says. Notes the letter Jacob Chansley left that read “It’s only a matter of time. Justice is coming.”

“This note is not peaceful. This note is a threat,” Paschall says.

The judge asked whether Jacob Chansley knew there was a noose hanging outside when he left a note threatening Mike Pence. Government said they have no evidence he knew about the noose. Chansley turned to his lawyer and shook his head no, indicating he didn’t know about the noose.

Calling Jacob Chansley the "flag-bearer” of Jan. 6, Paschall said the court must send a "strong message" to this defendant or any other, regardless of their political beliefs, that there are consequences for their actions.

"He made himself the image of the riot, didn't he?" Judge Lamberth asks.

Al Watkins, Jacob Chansley’s attorney, says there’s an “optics-driven desire” in the DOJ chain of command to impose signifiant sentences.

Watkins: Not all of those who participated in Jan. 6 are the same. This court has the choice and opportunity to ensure that justice is done.

Al Watkins says Jacob Chansley spent a lot of time in solitary confinement, and that his sole contact with humanity “was me, and that’s horrific.”

"There’s no question his views have evolved,” Judge Lamberth says after Watkins referenced Chansley being disappointed he didn’t get a pardon from Trump.

Jacob Chansley is going to speak to the court, Watkins says.

“QAnon Shaman” Jacob Chansley speaks: "My humblest regards, your honor.”

Thanks him for the organic diet. Judge notes he took a lot of flack for that.

“God bless you for it."

CHANSLEY: When I was in solitary, I asked myself a lot of questions, but the most important question was "What Would Jesus Do?"

Chansley is now referencing Supreme Court Justice Thomas, saying he admires him a lot.

Chansley: "I believe in freedom with all my heart and soul… But I also believe in law and order, because without law and order you can't have freedom."

Chansley: Men of honor admit when they’re wrong… I was wrong for entering the Capitol. I have no excuse, no excuse whatsoever.

But says he’s not an “insurrectionist” or “domestic terrorist.” Calls himself “a good man who broke the law.”

Chansley: What if we judged Jesus based on the fact that he overturned the merchant tables?

Chansley: Most people will never understand what is is like — nor should they, because it’s my fault — to be in solitary confinement.

Chansley is now talking about his grandfather dying when he was locked up, says it beats him up every day.

“I think the hardest part of all this is to know I’m to blame,” Chansley said. Says he has to look in the mirror and acknowledge he “really messed up, royally.”

Chansley now making a reference to Shawshank Redemption, saying he now understood the quote "Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.”

“This trauma has done something to me,” Chansley says. Says he has white hairs now.

“I see your honor has a lot of them, no offense,” Chansley tells 78-year-old Judge Lamberth, but says he’s 34 and shouldn’t have so many white hairs.

Chansley says after his time in jail that he now understands, without endorsing, why his dad died by suicide.

“I didn’t want to live that way,” Chansley said. “How anybody can reoffend… I really don’t understand.”

Chansley: This is the first time I’ve ever been incarcerated, and it will be the last, I can guarantee that. I want to evolve and grow beyond what I was, because that’s what life is all about.

Chansley: Now that I know I have a personality disorder, I can better navigate the world. I do want to have a family. More than anything I just want the trauma to stop. I want the pain to stop, and I just want to heal, I just want to grow. I want to be more than I was.

“You’ve been a federal judge as long as I’ve been alive,” Chansley says. Calls Lamberth “a wise man, an honorable man, who is going to be impartial, is going to be fair.” References Lamberth’s military service.

Chansley says he will continue working on this spiritual evolution as well as his mental and emotional well-being.

“I will never reoffend ever again, and I will always from here on forward think about the ramifications of everything that I do…"

Chansley wraps up: “God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.”

Lamberth thinks he’s genuine in his remorse, and says some of what he said was “akin” to what MLK would have said.

But “what you did here was horrific…"

Judge Lamberth isn’t going to go below the guidelines here.

“The serious nature of the crime itself does not lead to my ability really to think that I could depart downward… What you did was terrible.”

Lamberth: You didn’t slug anybody, but what you did here was actually obstructing the function of the whole government.

Story here: huffpost.com/entry/qanon-sh…