Key takeaways:
- Judge Royce C. Lamberth denied a motion to vacate the conviction of QAnon Shaman Jacob Chansley, rebuking Fox News host Tucker Carlson for his March 6, 2023 broadcast.
- The judge noted that the broadcast was “conveniently omitted” in Carlson’s past programming on Fox News.
- Chansley’s attorney said his client was “disappointed” by the ruling but “remains steadfast in his faith and belief in the American justice system.”
A federal judge has denied a motion to vacate the conviction of QAnon Shaman Jacob Chansley, rebuking Fox News host Tucker Carlson for his March 6, 2023 broadcast that claimed to show exonerating footage.
In a 35-page ruling Thursday, Judge Royce C. Lamberth expressed disappointment with Chansley’s “about-face” and reaffirmed that there remains ample evidence supporting his conviction for obstructing Congress during the 2021 Capitol attack. The judge also called Carlson’s broadcast “replete with misstatements and misrepresentations … too numerous to count.”
Chansley, who was seen in photos and videos inside the Capitol during the attack, had pleaded guilty in March 2021 to two counts of obstruction of an official proceeding and one count of entering a restricted building. He had sought to withdraw his guilty plea based on Carlson’s broadcast.
In his ruling, Judge Lamberth wrote that the court “cannot and will not reject the evidence before it,” noting that the broadcast “explicitly questioned the integrity of this Court — not to mention the legitimacy of the entire U.S. criminal justice system.”
The judge also noted that the broadcast was “conveniently omitted” in Carlson’s past programming on Fox News.
Chansley’s attorney, Albert Watkins, said his client was “disappointed” by the ruling but “remains steadfast in his faith and belief in the American justice system.” Watkins added that Chansley “will continue to fight for his freedom and for the freedom of all Americans.”
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