Phoenix :
An Arizona man who took part in the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol while sporting face paint, no shirt and a furry hat with horns made his first court appearance Monday.
A judge scheduled a detention hearing Friday for Jake Chansley, who has been jailed on misdemeanour charges since surrendering to authorities over the weekend in Phoenix. He took part in the hearing by phone from a detention facility.
The FBI identified Chansley from images taken during the riot showing his distinctive sleeve tattoos. Chansley was inside the Capitol and on the Senate dais as he carried a U.S. flag on a pole topped with a spear.
He hasn’t yet entered a plea on charges of entering a restricted building without lawful authority, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
His court-appointed attorney, Gerald Williams, told the judge that Chansley has been unable to eat since he was arrested Saturday. He said his client has a restricted diet, though it was unclear to Williams whether Chansley’s food issues were related to health concerns or religious reasons.
The judge ordered Williams to work with the U.S. Marshals Service to address the issue.
Chansley’s mother, Martha Chansley, told reporters outside the courthouse that her son needs an organic diet, The Arizona Republic reported.
“He gets very sick if he doesn’t eat organic food,” she said. “He needs to eat.” Williams didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment from The Associated Press.
Chansley is among at least 90 people who have been arrested on charges stemming from Wednesday’s siege on the Capitol.
An investigator said in court records that Chansley called the FBI in Washington the day after the riot, telling investigators that he came to the nation’s capital “at the request of the president that all ‘patriots’ come to D.C. on January 6, 2021.” Chansley has long been a fixture at Trump rallies. He also attended a November rally of Trump supporters protesting election results outside of an election office in Phoenix, holding up a sign that read, “HOLD THE LINE PATRIOTS GOD WINS.” Rioters violently clashed with officers as they forced their way in the Capitol to try to stop Congress from certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
A police officer who was hit in the head with a fire extinguisher later died, and a woman was fatally shot by an officer as she tried climbing through the broken window of a barricaded doorway inside the Capitol. Three others died in medical emergencies.
