'QAnon shaman' Jake Angeli released from prison to halfway house

The Phoenix man who took part in the raid of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, with a painted face and wearing a fur hat topped with horns has been moved by federal authorities out of prison and into a halfway house.

Jake Angeli, the 35-year-old who became known as the QAnon Shaman, was moved out of prison on Tuesday and into "community confinement," a spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons said in an email. The agency said his residential confinement would either be at a facility or at his home, but would not confirm which.

The attorney who handled his criminal trial, Albert Watkins, said in a news release Thursday that Angeli was in a halfway house. He confirmed to The Republic on Thursday that Angeli was at a facility and not confined to his home.

The Bureau of Prisons website showed Angeli with a release date of May 25.

Angeli had been held at the federal prison in Safford.

Angeli was sentenced in November 2021 to 41 months in prison. He pleaded guilty to a felony count of obstructing a civil proceeding.

Angeli, who was charged under his legal name of Jacob Chansley, was not accused of any acts of violence or vandalism while in the U.S. Capitol. But prosecutors said he played a key role in the riot by goading on the crowd through shouts through his megaphone.

Angeli had made himself, and his megaphone, a fixture at protests in the Phoenix area since at least 2019. He participated in all manner of protest marches and rallies, including becoming a leader at rallies outside the Maricopa County election headquarters in late 2020 protesting the defeat of President Donald Trump.

During these protests, Angeli would be shirtless, showing off elaborate tattoos on his arms and torso. He carried a spear with a heavy blade, to which he sometimes affixed the U.S. flag. He would paint his face, sometimes black and white, but he switched to red, white and blue after the 2020 election.

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Angeli would also carry a sign that read: "Q Sent Me." He told The Arizona Republic he wore his garb to attract attention to the wide-ranging conspiracy involving Q, who adherents believed was an anonymous federal official posting cryptic clues to hidden truths on online bulletin boards. The central − and false − theory was that Trump would dismantle a global conspiracy of elite leaders and celebrities engaged in crimes against children.

Angeli drove to Washington D.C. to attend a speech by Trump on Jan. 6, 2021. He then joined others marching to the U.S. Capitol. Video showed him among the first to enter after windows were broken.

A judge said that Angeli "quite literally spearheaded" the breach of the U.S. Capitol.

With his eye-catching get-up, Angeli attracted attention. He was seen in multiple videos and photos of the riot.

He became the face of the riot, with his iconic look being mocked on late-night talk shows.

During his time inside the Capitol, Angeli strode into the U.S. Senate chambers and, ignoring the pleas of the sole police officer there, took the dais. He left a note for Vice President Mike Pence that said, “It’s only a matter of time. Justice is coming!”

After Trump sent a video message through Twitter asking his supporters to leave the Capitol, Angeli was seen on video using his megaphone to blast Trump’s wishes to the crowd, asking them to clear the building.

At his sentencing, Angeli took responsibility but said he was not a danger to society.

"I may be guilty of this crime, absolutely," he said. "But I am in no way, shape or form a dangerous criminal. I'm not a domestic terrorist. I'm not an insurrectionist.

"I'm a good man who broke the law," he said.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'QAnon shaman' Jake Angeli released from prison to halfway house