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‘QAnon Shaman’ Says He’s ‘Disappointed’ Trump Did Not Pardon Him

(Screesnshot - Twitter/CBS This Morning)

Varun Hukeri General Assignment & Analysis Reporter
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Jacob Chansley, otherwise known as the “QAnon Shaman,” said during an interview from his prison cell he was “disappointed” former President Donald Trump did not pardon him and other participants of the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Chansley told “60 Minutes+” reporter Laurie Segall in a video posted Thursday that he remains loyal to Trump but regrets participating in the Capitol riot “with every fiber of” his being. Chansley and his attorney previously requested a pardon shortly before Trump left office, a request that was not granted. The interview is Chansley’s first since being arrested in January.

“I honestly believed and still believe that he cares about the Constitution, that he cares about the American people, and that’s also why, and you know it wounded me so deeply, and why it disappointed me so greatly that I and others did not get a pardon,” Chansley said of the former president during the interview.

Trump issued numerous pardons during his final days in office, including for his former strategist Steve Bannon and rapper “Lil Wayne.” But no alleged Capitol rioters were pardoned and federal law enforcement have since identified at least 250 suspects, according to NPR.

Chansley further told “60 Minutes+” it was “inaccurate entirely” to call his actions at the Jan. 6 riot an attack on the country or an insurrection. (RELATED: House Cancels Scheduled Votes After Report Of Possible Threat To Capitol, Meanwhile Senate To Stay In Session)

“My actions on Jan. 6. How would I describe them? Well, I sang a song,” he said. “I also stopped people from stealing and vandalizing that sacred space. OK, I actually stopped somebody from stealing muffins out of the break room.”

“I consider myself a lover of my country. I consider myself a believer in the Constitution. I consider myself a believer in truth and our founding principles. I consider myself a believer in God,” he added.

Multiple pictures and videos during the riot showed Chansley wearing a Viking helmet and carrying a spear through the Capitol building. Prosecutors charged Chansley with two federal misdemeanors in January. He faces up to 20 years behind bars, according to CBS.