Jacob Chansley, the so-called “QAnon Shaman,” was sentenced to 41 months in prison for his role in the US Capitol riot. https://t.co/xn7Wt97gXD

— CNN (@CNN) November 17, 2021

Jacob Chansley, also known as the QAnon Shaman, was sentenced to 41 months in prison.

A lot has happened since the day we got to know this dude on national television.

Many of us only remember him as the dude with the horns. Some portrayed him as one of the leaders on January 6th. And most folks will never forget the images of Chansley mocking democracy.

After the events of January 6th, he was begging for a presidential pardon but got disappointed. Soon after that, he demanded organic food in prison. Then he gave an interview on CBS News.

We spent a lot of time watching this story unfold—and now, he was sentenced to 41 months in prison.

Of course, we could argue that other folks spent far more time in prison because of less serious crimes. Let’s not forget: Chansley was part of a mob that tried to delegitimize our democratic process. He threatened elected officials and showed no respect for democratic institutions.

At the same time, he defended himself by arguing that he was only following the orders of his idol Donald Trump. This also means that he is indirectly blaming Trump for his own actions.

Chansley’s lawyer Albert Watkins rejects the narrative of his client being an insurrectionist. He also blames Trump for the events of January 6th and everything connected to “the Big Lie.”

Basically, he is defending himself by pointing fingers at everyone else involved—but he is also apologizing for his own behavior. It’s not surprising that he tried everything possible to make us feel sorry for him.

And you know what? I feel sorry for him.

Not because there is any excuse for what he did on January 6th, but because it upsets me that many others who knew exactly what they were doing that day have not been held accountable up to this day.

Of course, Chansley did something wrong and needed to get punished. But what about all the elected officials who played a role in the events of January 6th? What about media networks that riled up viewers prior to this tragic day?

Why do we focus on a young man who is clearly dealing with mental health problems instead of holding the ones accountable that caused these events?

It’s always easy to focus on a weird-looking person who obviously broke the law, but what about looking at the dynamics that made this possible? Chansley didn’t make up the stuff that caused him to do what he did—he is a lost dude who fell for a narrative that far too many Americans believe in.

We know him as one of the most prominent faces of the so-called QAnon cult—but he didn’t start that movement. He joined it like many other folks who are totally lost and not capable of processing news, information, and context.

Let’s hold the ones accountable who started all of this. Let’s hold the politicians accountable who spread these lies that caused the events of January 6th. Let’s take a look which media outlets mislead millions of Americans after the elections (and up to this day).

The QAnon shaman will be in jail for more than three years, but that doesn’t solve the problem. Trump and other members of the Republican party need to distance themselves from the QAnon movement immediately.

This story is not over yet, and arresting Chansley doesn’t solve the problems of our democracy.

Politicians who are willing to mislead public opinion with false information to make political gains are a far bigger threat to democracy than one dude going crazy—let’s focus on that.