A man who took part in the attack on the Capitol with a painted face, a horned helmet and no shirt, expressed regret at his participation in the violence and was disillusioned with former President Donald Trump.
Born in Arizona, Jacob Chansley says he reflected on his life while he was in prison and now accepts that he should not have participated in the assault on the legislative palace.
In a statement released Monday night by his lawyer, Chansley, who previously said he was inspired by Trump when he decided to go to Washington on January 6, he now says the former president has “disappointed many peaceful people.”
Chansley assured that he is examining his conscience around the events that led to the uprising and asked civilians, happened around us, what we did. We are good people with a great appreciation for our country ”.
Attorney Al Watkins released the statement a few hours before Trump’s second trial in the Senate began, on charges of instigating the attack on the Capitol.
Watkins, who asked for but failed to get Trump to pardon Chansley before leaving the presidency, reported that the Senate is bringing his client to testify before lawmakers about how he was instigated by the former president , declined.
The lawyer insisted the statement is not a gimmick, but an expression of genuine regret. Yet he insisted that he does not believe that a government should prosecute people who have been incited by senior officials.
“If you believe that the administration is right to prosecute (Trump), you cannot simultaneously consider criminals as the ones who were sued because those who were turned on were victims,” the lawyer said in an interview.
Chansley was among the crowd of Trump fanatics who subdued the few guards who were there and stormed the Capitol on January 6, when Congressmen gathered there to ratify Democrat Joe Biden’s election victory.