After being arrested for his clear and heavily photographed participation in the attack on the U.S. Capitol building, Jacob Angeli Chansley (a.k.a. the “QAnon Shaman“) has reportedly lost over 20 pounds while refusing to eat the food at a Washington, D.C. prison because it’s not organic. His lawyer claims Chansley hasn’t eaten for a week and filed an emergency motion in federal court on Wednesday demanding that Chansley be served only organic food in accordance with his “religious beliefs” or be immediately released. Via The Hill:
“Based on Mr. Jacob Chansley’s shamanic belief system and way of life, non-organic food, which contains unnatural chemicals, would act as an ‘object intrusion’ onto his body and cause serious illness if he were to eat it,” attorney Albert Watkins wrote.
Watkins told the court that he has had no success persuading D.C. corrections officials to provide his client with organic food.
If this story sounds familiar, it’s because Chansley made a similar demand for organic food when he was first arrested in his home state of Arizona less than a week after the Capitol riot. A judge ultimately granted his request and ordered the state to conform to the QAnon Shaman’s diet. Since then, Chansley has been transferred to the Washington, D.C. facility, where he’s getting exactly what he wants again.
On Wednesday afternoon, a federal judge has reportedly ordered that D.C. facility must serve Chansley food that is labeled “USDA organic.” According to Vice, the judge was convinced by Chansley’s lawyer claims that his client’s “shamanistic belief system” is a sincere religion. So, he’s 2-0 on this request.
(Via The Hill)