Jake Angeli Gets 41 Months for Jan. 6 Capitol Siege

Phoenix man Jacob Anthony Chansley, a.k.a. Jake Angeli, 34, was hit with 41 months in federal prison for spearheading the violent breach of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 — a day that saw a mob disrupt Congress certifying the presidential election. Dressed in a horned Viking helmet, face painted red, white, and blue, and wielding a six-foot spear, Chansley was among the first 30 rioters to storm the building as lawmakers scrambled for safety.

Chansley punched through police lines at the Capitol’s West Front, charging shirtless past barricades alongside a surging mob. He climbed over scaffolding erected for the upcoming inauguration, stormed into the Upper West Terrace at 2:10 p.m., and forced his way into the Senate chamber through a shattered door by 2:14 p.m. — all while Vice President Mike Pence and legislators were still evacuating under threat of violence. The Capitol, a symbol of American democracy, became a war zone, and Chansley placed himself at its epicenter.

Once inside, Chansley scaled the Senate dais and plopped into the chair vacated by Pence just minutes before. He snapped photos of himself in the seat of power, refused to leave when ordered by law enforcement, and shouted that “Mike Pence is a f—-ing traitor.” He scrawled a threatening note on Senate stationery: “It’s Only A Matter of Time. Justice Is Coming!” Then, using a bullhorn, he rallied other rioters to the dais and led them in a tribal-style chant — a grotesque parody of governance.

Chansley was arrested three days later, on January 9, 2021, and has remained in custody ever since. On September 3, 2021, he pleaded guilty in Washington, D.C. to obstruction of an official proceeding — the charge prosecutors used to nail insurgents who derailed the electoral vote count. Judge Royce C. Lamberth slammed him with a 41-month sentence, $2,000 in restitution, and three years of supervised release post-incarceration.

The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Justice Department’s National Security Division, with support from Arizona federal prosecutors. The FBI’s Washington Field Office led the investigation, aided by the U.S. Capitol Police, the Metropolitan Police Department, and the FBI’s Phoenix office. The coordinated response underscores how deeply federal agencies are digging into the Jan. 6 insurrection.

More than 675 suspects have been arrested nationwide in the ten months since the Capitol fell. Over 210 face charges for assaulting or impeding police. The probe is far from over. Anyone with information is urged to call 1-800-CALL-FBI or visit tips.fbi.gov. Chansley’s horns may be gone, but the consequences of that day are just beginning to land.