A federal judge denied a request Monday to release from custody Jake Angeli, the Phoenix man whose elaborate tattoos, face paint and horned fur hat made him one of the signature figures of the Jan. 6 raid on the U.S. Capitol.
Judge Royce Lamberth said in his decision that he heard no new data in a consultation last week that would force him to return to his March request that Angeli be held while anticipating preliminary on six government charges identifying with the invasion on the Capitol.
On Jan. 6., Congress was meeting in a joint meeting, managed by then-Vice President Mike Pence, to authoritatively ensure the appointment of President Joe Biden and the loss of previous President Donald Trump.
Angeli and scores of others stormed the buildings in what became a mob takeover that sent lawmakers scrambling for safety. Angeli, in footage captured by a journalist with The New Yorker, strutted into the U.S. Senate chamber, posed for pictures on the dais and left a note for Pence.
“It’s only a matter of time,” the note said. “Justice is coming!”
Angeli was wearing the outfit he had usually worn at rallies and protests in the Phoenix area since at least 2019: bare-chested and showing off elaborate tattoos, face paint and a signature fur hat with horns and tails that draped around his face.
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Angeli also carried a spear and a sign that read: Q Sent Me. Angeli was a loudly vocal adherent to the QAnon conspiracy theory that imagined a government insider was posting cryptic hints about government corruption on obscure bulletin boards. At its core, believers thought the poster, known by the name Q, was hinting Trump was about to order mass arrests of world leaders for crimes against children.
Aware his image was being circulated by law enforcement seeking his whereabouts after Jan. 6, Angeli called the FBI the day after the raid. He went to FBI headquarters in Phoenix after his drive back for what he thought would be a continuation of questioning. Instead, he was arrested. His horned hat, which was in his car, was confiscated.