Jake Angeli, a.k.a. the QAnon Shaman, still faces criminal charges related to his participation in the events of January 6 at the U.S. Capitol. On that day, he left a note on Vice President Mike Pence’s desk that said, “ "It's only a matter of time, justice is coming."
Besides being a QAnon adherent, Angeli also believes that radios and televisions emit inaudible noise that affects the brains of people hearing it. He also apparently thinks he’s a god or higher being. He was kicked out of the U.S. Navy for refusing an anthrax vaccine and has been taking pscyhedelic drugs since he was 11.
Since his arrest, Angeli refused to eat until a judge ordered that he be served organic food. A federal judge also ruled that he should remain in jail because he “does not fully appreciate the severity” of the situation.
His lawyer, Albert Watkins, originally sought a pardon from outgoing President Donald Trump. Watkins argued that Angeli was not violent and was there at the invitation of President Trump.
On Tuesday, remarks Watkins made in an interview were reported on.
An excerpt:
A lot of these defendants — and I’m going to use this colloquial term, perhaps disrespectfully — but they’re all fucking short-bus people,” Watkins told TPM. “These are people with brain damage, they’re fucking retarded, they’re on the goddamn spectrum.”
“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.”
I’ve read at least one lawyer comment on the fact that the remarks could constitute ethical problems for the attorney.
If the name Albert Watkins sounds familiar, he previously represented this couple:
Mark and Patricia McCloskey made news in 2020 when they confronted Black Lives Matter protesters with a rifle and handgun as seen above.