ST. LOUIS — There are new developments in the case against two people charged in connection to the Capitol riot on Jan. 6.
On the eve of his arraignment, an attorney for Jacob Chansley, the so-called "QAnon Shaman," said he's ready to turn on former President Donald Trump.
The 33-year-old is charged with knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building, violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds for his role in the unrest.
St. Louis attorney Al Watkins told the I-Team that Chansley now wants to testify at Trump's impeachment trial. He claimed Trump's words incited people, such as Chansley, to enter the Capitol building.
"It will be absolutely fundamentally necessary for those who are serving as the judges at that impeachment trial to hear the voices of those who were incited and there is no more prominent face of those were incited than that of my client," Watkins said.
Chansley, who's also known as Jake Angeli, was one of the most recognizable people from the riot. Photos show him sporting face paint, no shirt and a furry hat with horns.
Watkins said prosecuting Chansley and others involved in the unrest sends a mixed message.
"The government on one hand says, the president should be impeached and prosecuted in an impeachment trial for saying things to incite people to do things that they otherwise shouldn't have done," Watkins said. "I don't think any president, Democrat or Republican, Trump or Biden wants the government to send out a message to all of us... that you have no right to believe the words of your president, you have no right to rely on the truth of the words spoken by your president."
Chansley is currently in custody in Washington, D.C. Watkins said he will enter a not guilty plea at his arraignment Friday.
Sullivan woman charged in Capitol riot
The case against a St. Louis area woman also accused of being involved in the unrest is moving forward. Emily Hernandez, a 22-year-old from Sullivan, Missouri, has her initial appearance scheduled for Tuesday. Her attorney Ethan Corlija told the I-Team she will appear remotely.
Corlija also said he's taken on another client who was at the Capitol on Jan. 6. That person has not yet been charged.