"He was like thousands of others that day. But the whole world recognized him thanks to his 'unmistakable outfit'", writes the judge in their decision to return the accessories to the rioter.
Images of a man with a bare upper body, fur-clad horns, and the American flag painted on his face were broadcast around the world in connection with the storming of the Capitol in the USA. And now, the shaman, or Jacob Chansley as he is actually named, is getting back his horns and his lance.
Chansley was sentenced to 41 months in prison – which he has now served. According to the judge, there is no longer a need to preserve the horns and lance as evidence, and they are being returned to Chansley.
Members of the US Congress gathered at the Capitol on January 6, 2021, to formally declare Democrat Joe Biden the winner and next president. The outgoing president, Donald Trump, urged his supporters to go to Congress and "fight like hell" while repeating his false claims of electoral fraud.
Some of the tens of thousands of Trump supporters who gathered in Washington did as the former president said. The protests turned violent when hundreds of people stormed the Capitol. Nine deaths can be linked to the storming, and over 700 indictments were filed.