Background: Jacob Chansley at the U.S. Capitol, January 6, 2021 (Saul Loeb/AFP Getty). Inset left: President Donald Trump addresses the media on Friday, June 27, 2025, in the White House briefing room in Washington (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin). Inset right: Jacob Chansley, February 4, 2021 (Alexandria Detention Center).
One formerly passionate supporter of President Donald Trump has now turned against him, openly criticizing the leader of the “Make America Great Again” movement and accusing him of severe misconduct through a series of social media tirades.
Jacob Chansley, widely recognized as the “QAnon Shaman,” stands out as the most notorious participant of the January 6, 2021, insurrection backing Trump. Images of him shirtless, carrying a spear, and donning a horned fur hat inside the U.S. Capitol became emblematic of the unrest on that day.
But, despite being pardoned by Trump in January for the charge of obstructing a federal proceeding, the Arizona man did an about-face, unleashing a tirade against the president on Wednesday.
“F– this stupid piece of s–… What a fraud…” Chansley wrote in reply to a post containing the president’s 2023 mugshot.
Additional posts from Chansley suggested Trump was at the mercy of information tied to deceased child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, suggesting this was the root of his discontentment with the president.
Trump has been lambasted by many of his once-staunch supporters over the lack of new details being released regarding Epstein. In the midst of this controversy, several reports have emerged suggesting Trump had closer ties with the disgraced financier than previously believed.
In his social media rant, Chansley aimed at other Trump allies – both current and former – including House Speaker Mike Johnson and Elon Musk.
As Law&Crime previously reported, Chansley pleaded guilty in September 2021 to obstructing a federal proceeding — a charge that the Supreme Court later deemed as inapplicable to accused Jan. 6 rioters. He was sentenced in November 2021 to 41 months in prison and was released to a halfway house in May 2023.
It has been quite a seven months for the “QAnon shaman” and his impression of Donald Trump. In January, he celebrated Trump’s pardon of him and about 1,500 other convicted Jan. 6 rioters, writing on social media, “THANK YOU PRESIDENT TRUMP!!!”
“J6ers are getting released & JUSTICE HAS COME … EVERYTHING done in the dark WILL come to light!” he added.
That is a far cry from the portrait he painted of Trump on Wednesday.
