Albert Watkins, the attorney for Jacob Chansley aka the QAnon Shaman is still blaming Donald Trump for his client’s decision to storm the Capitol on January 6. Watkins spoke with Talking Points Memo, and used some very offensive language to defend his client and liken Trump’s propaganda to that of Adolf Hitler’s.
Watkins told TPM that Chansley has Asperger’s syndrome, and that other participants in the riot have intellectual disabilities that were to blame along with propaganda from Trump.
“Alot of these defendants–and I’m going to use this colloquial term, perhaps disrespectfully–but they’re all fucking short-bus people. These are people with brain damage, they’re fucking retarded, they’re on the goddamn spectrum,” he said
“But they’re our brothers, our sisters, our neighbors, our coworkers — they’re part of our country. These aren’t bad people, they don’t have prior criminal history. Fuck, they were subjected to four-plus years of goddamn propaganda the likes of which the world has not seen since fucking Hitler,” he added.
Watkins later defended his comments, telling the Hill that there was a “reason and purpose” behind his “less than politically correct description” of the people who participated in the riot. He said his description fit “many” people who took part in the day’s events.
Watkins has continued to blame Trump for his client’s participation in the Capitol riot but that defense has not been successful in court.
In March, Judge Royce Lamberth argued that Chansley’s statements holding Donald Trump accountable for his alleged illegal entry into the Capitol building showed that Chansley was unremorseful about his actions.
Chansley, the most easily recognizable Trump supporter to storm the Capitol has been charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, and with violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
He was ordered to remain in jail while awaiting trial.
