ST. LOUIS — The “Qanon Shaman,” who has plead not guilty to charges related to the Capitol riot, will be allowed to eat organic food while in jail, a federal judge decreed Wednesday.
The “Shaman,” whose real name is Jacob Chansley, became one of the most recognizable faces of the Capitol occupation after images surfaced of his shirtless torso, painted face and horned helmet appeared inside the halls of Capitol hill.
Chansley is facing a series of charges related to the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol, including violent entry, disorderly conduct and obstruction of an official proceeding.
On Wednesday a federal judge ordered jail officials to provide organic meals to Chansley after his attorney, Al Watkins, filed an emergency motion saying his client was wasting away because he wasn’t provided organic meals.
According to the Post-Dispatch, lawyers for the District of Columbia jail where Chansley is being held said they could find no requirement for organic food in Shamanism.
The court motion Watkins filed stated the defendant’s faith as a Shaman means eating non-organic food, which contains unnatural chemicals, would act as an “object intrusion” on his body and cause serious illness if he were to eat it.
The court document also says the defendant has lost more than 20 pounds in the last week.
The Post-Dispatch says a U.S. District Judge said he would defer to an earlier decision by federal prison officials to provide organic food to Chansley.