Capitol Rioters Intent 'Was to Capture and Assassinate Elected Officials,' Prosecutors Say
Prosecutors have said those who stormed the Capitol last week intended to "capture and assassinate" elected officials while arguing that the so-called "QAnon Shaman" should not be released from custody ahead of his trial.
Jake Angeli, 33, of Arizona, is scheduled to appear in court Friday after being charged with being part of the mob who attacked the Capitol on January 6.
Angeli, real name Jacob Anthony Chansley, was one of the most prominent people seen inside Congress during the insurrection due to his striking fur hat, horns and face paint.
According to prosecutors Michael Bailey and Kristen Brook, Angeli needs to be detained pending trial because he has become a "symbol" of the deadly attack and admitted he intends to return to Washington D.C. for Joe Biden's inauguration.
Court documents filed by the attorneys state there is strong evidence, including from Angeli's own words and actions at the Capitol, that the intent of those who stormed the capitol "was to capture and assassinate elected officials" in government.
Prosecutors said that Chansley left a note on the Senate Chamber dais for Mike Pence, where the vice president had been sitting just moments before during the session, to certify the Electoral College results, warning "it's only a matter of time, justice is coming."
Angeli denied to the FBI that the note was a threat, but told authorities he was glad he sat in Pence's chair as he accused him of being a "child-trafficking traitor."
Angeli is a known support of the radical conspiracy theory QAnon, which the FBI lists as a domestic terrorist threat. Among some of the key but ultimately false beliefs of the movement is that there exists a secret network of satanic pedophiles containing politicians and the media elite.
Prosecutors state that Angeli has also publicly spoken about wanting to identify and then "hang" "traitors" in the U.S. government.
On January 6, the mob, which included far-right extremists, could be heard chanting "hang Mike Pence" in the corridors of the Capitol building, with other suspects accused of taking part in the attempt to overthrow the government spotted with plastic zip ties.
The anger against the Vice President was fueled by unsubstantiated claims that Pence could still somehow overturn the election results during his purely ceremonial and constitutional role as presiding officer of the Senate as the Electoral Votes were being certified.
Donald Trump, who has been impeached for a second time after being accused of inciting his followers to carry out the insurrection, also helped push the false claim about Pence in the days before the attack.
There are fears that the far-right and other supporters of Trump are planning a repeat of the violence ahead of Biden's inauguration on January 20.
Prosecutors said Angeli also expressed his interest in returning to Washington D.C. for the ceremony, telling the FBI: "I'll still go, you better believe it. For sure I'd want to be there, as a protestor, as a protestor, f*****g A."
Prosecutors said Angeli's "demonstrated unwillingness to conform to societal rules" suggests a pending criminal case will not stop him returning to the capital.
They added that the 33-year-old made himself "the symbol of a radicalized insurrection movement" and should not be freed amid fears of a repeat attack.
"At this juncture in our Nation's history, it is hard to imagine a greater risk to our democracy and community than the armed revolution of which Chansley has made himself the symbol," the affidavit states.
Angeli is accused of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, civil disorder, obstruction of an official proceeding, disorderly conduct in a restricted building, and demonstrating in a Capitol building.
