'QAnon Shaman' Says in 1st Interview He Didn't Think He Was Attacking the Country During Capitol Assault

The "QAnon Shaman," speaking from jail, told a 60 Minutes+ reporter during an exclusive interview that he did not believe his attacks on the U.S. Capitol were an attack on the country. Jacob Chansley was one of the nearly 300 rioters who were charged following the Jan. 6 seize on the capitol that forced the entire U.S. Senate to go into hiding.

"No, they were not, ma'am. My actions were not an attack on this country. That is incorrect. That is inaccurate, entirely," Chansley said in an excerpt of an interview with 60 Minutes+ correspondent Laurie Segall that aired on "CBS This Morning."

Chansley was allegedly seen in pictures and videos on the Senate floor during the insurrection shirtless, dressed in a fur headdress with horns. 

Chansley says he is a practicing shaman and was recently transferred from a correctional facility in Washington D.C. to a detention center in Virginia after going on a hunger strike in religious protest. A judge accommodated his request to eat only organic food to comply with his Shamanistic faith.

Chansley told Segall that he, "sang a song" during the siege. 

"And that's a part of shamanism. It's about-- creating positive vibrations in a sacred chamber. I also stopped people from stealing and vandalizing that sacred space, the Senate. OK?" Chansley said. "I actually stopped somebody from stealing muffins out of the-- out of the break room. And I also said a prayer in that sacred chamber. Because it was my intention to bring divinity and to bring God back into the Senate."

Chansley faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. He was indicted by a federal grand jury on Jan. 11 on two felony charges and four misdemeanors including civil disorder and violent entry and disorderly conduct, according to reports. He will appear Friday before a judge who will determine whether or not he is released pending trial.

Chansley said he had a regret about his belief that he was allowed into the Capitol building "when we were waved in by police officers," he thought his actions were acceptable.

"That is one serious regret that I have," he said in the interview.

However, Chansley does not regret his loyalty to the president, he added.

In the moments leading up to the startling events, a rally by former President Donald Trump who continued to propagate lies about a "stolen election" and inadvertently encouraged his supporters to go to the capitol to "take back the house".

Despite what happened at the Capitol, Chansley still calls himself a patriot, a "lover of my country" and "believer in the Constitution." He added that Trump "had our back" and was disappointed he didn't receive a pardon from the former president. 

Five people died as a result of the riots. Over 130 officers were injured as well. 

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