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'Horned' Capitol rioter to get organic food after refusing jail diet

On Monday, Angeli attended a hearing at a federal court in Phoenix

angeli shaman ap Jake Angeli (second from left) seen holding a US flag inside the Capitol in Washington DC | AP

Among the many horrifying visuals from the invasion of the US Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump on January 6, arguably the most bizarre was the 'QAnon Shaman', a shirtless protester who wore face paint and a fur coat with horns on his hat.

Jacob Chansley, also known as Jake Angeli, a native of Arizona, was taken into custody on January 9 and “charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds”.

Angeli became one of the 'faces' of the chaos at the Capitol that left five people dead and the world in shock. Angeli had been a regular participant at several rallies of President Donald Trump and was a supporter of the QAnon rightwing conspiracy group.

On Monday, US news websites reported Angeli attended a hearing at a federal court in Phoenix remotely.

Angeli's public defender was quoted by ABC 15 as telling judge Deborah Fine that he "was on an extremely restrictive diet, perhaps for religious reasons, and had not eaten since he was taken into custody".

Angeli's mother, Martha Chansley, told mediapersons, "He gets very sick if he doesn't eat organic food—literally will get physically sick."

The judge ordered Angeli's defender to work with the U.S. Marshals' office to address the dietary concerns. David Gonazales, the U.S. Marshal for the district of Arizona, told ABC 15 that Angeli will be provided "food in line with a shaman's strict organic diet".

Interestingly, in an interview, Martha had defended her son's participation in the violence last week. She referred to him as a "patriot" and being the “gentlest person I know”. Martha told ABC 15, "It takes a lot of courage to be a patriot, OK, and to stand up for what it is that you believe... Not everybody wants to be the person upfront."

Newsweek reported a Capitol Police arrest affidavit quoted Angeli as saying that he had arrived at Washington DC "as part of a group effort, with other 'patriots' from Arizona, at the request of the president".

Angeli had told NBC he had not done anything wrong, claiming, "I walked through an open door, dude."

Angeli was in the US Navy for a brief period. Military Times reported on Monday, "He enlisted in September 2005 and left the service in October 2007 as a supply clerk seaman apprentice… His awards and decorations include the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon and the Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon.”

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