Judge orders Justice Department to return helmet, spear to ‘QAnon Shaman’

On Monday, a federal judge mandated that the Justice Department give back the spear and horned helmet that self-described “QAnon Shaman,” Jacob Chansley, wore during his January 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol.

The government took the “horned coyote-tail headdress” and “a six-foot pole with an American flag ziptied to the shaft and a metal spearhead fixed to the top,” as the government has described them, from Chansley when he was arrested. Chansley was sentenced to 41 months in prison for his involvement in the events of January 6. Chansley made a request for the return of the property in May. Chansley’s motion was denied by the Justice Department, which said in court documents that the objects were “used to project strength during the assault.”

The Justice Department pushed back on Chansley’s request, arguing in court papers that the items, which were “used to project strength during the assault on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021,” should remain in federal custody. “Mr. Chansley has completed his prison sentence and much of his term of supervised release. Now, he has moved for the return of his property seized and still held by the government, including his spear and helmet,” Judge Lamberth wrote.

“Since the government has not established that it still needs these items as evidence and has not sought their forfeiture, the Court will GRANT Mr. Chansley’s motion,” the judge said. According to the Justice Department, more than 460 defendants have been imprisoned after prosecutors secured more than 718 guilty pleas from the more than 1,265 people who have been accused in connection with the Capitol attack.