9 April 6thth–April 12th, 2023 phoenixnewtimes.com phoenix new Times | cONTeNTs | feeDBacK | OPiNiON | NeWs | feaTuRe | NighT+Day | culTuRe | film | cafe | music | QAnon Shaman Jacob Chansley is out of prison and in an Arizona halfway house. BY KATYA SCHWENK J acob Chansley — better known as the QAnon Sha- man — is out of federal prison and back in Arizona. The infamous Capitol rioter and Phoenix native was released early from his 41-month prison sentence, ABC15 reported on March 30, a sentence he was given for his role in the January 6, 2021, riots. Federal records indicate that Chansley is now in the care of a halfway house somewhere in Arizona — in Phoenix, Florence, Tucson, or Flagstaff. In 2021, Chansley became something of the face of the Capitol riots thanks in part to his costume. Photographs of Chansley standing inside the U.S. Senate chambers garbed in a horned headdress, his face painted, and hoisting a spear quickly went viral. He had traveled with other Arizonans to Washington, D.C., ahead of the inauguration of President Joe Biden and was part of the mob that broke into the Capitol. But Chansley, who grew up in Phoenix and graduated from Moon Valley High School, first got recognition for his right-wing protesting here in the Valley. In the months before the Capitol riots, Chansley frequently was seen at protests at the Arizona state Capitol over CO- VID-19 mandates and the 2020 election. Even then, he dressed in simi- lar attire and raved about QAnon and other right-wing conspiracies. His antics earned him the title of Best Insurgent from Phoenix New Times in its Best of Phoenix 2021. “Phoenix reporters already knew him from local right-wing protests: He was a 33-year-old wanna-be actor who lived with his mom in Glendale after falling behind on rent at his own apartment (the same mom who complained on his behalf when he wasn’t getting enough organic food in jail),” the Best Insurgent award noted. Chansley was arrested three days after the riots, on January 9, and charged with disorderly conduct, violent entry, and obstruction of an official proceeding, among other criminal counts. He ultimately pleaded guilty in September 2021 to a single count of obstruction of an official proceeding — and received a 41-month sentence. Begin- ning in January 2022, he was held at a federal prison in Safford. Chansley served 27 months before being released to a halfway house. Prison records indicate that as of March 30, Chansley is under the care of RRM Phoenix, a residential reentry manage- ment bureau that oversees several halfway houses across Arizona. It is unclear which halfway house Chansley is located in. Chansley’s lawyer, Albert Watkins, confirmed to the Hill that Chansley was moved to a halfway house and said it was “appropriate this gentle and intelligent young man be permitted to move forward with the next stage of what undoubtedly will be a law-abiding and enriching life.” Chansley’s projected release date is May 25. ‘I’m Being Displaced’ The Phoenix City Council fails to stop evictions at three trailer parks. BY KATYA SCHWENK A young girl approached the podium on March 22 and looked up at the members of the Phoenix City Council seated before her. “My name is Michelle,” she said in Spanish. “I’m being displaced.” Last April, Michelle’s family was one of the dozens living in the Periwinkle Mobile Home Park that received an unexpected eviction notice from Grand Canyon University. According to the notice, residents had just six months to leave their longtime homes. In the months since, Periwinkle residents have joined forces with two other Phoenix mobile home parks whose inhabitants are also facing eviction. The other parks are Las Casitas — which is located at 18th Avenue and Buckeye Road and is now called Beacon — and Weldon Court in midtown. With eviction dates fast approaching — Weldon Court has until May 1, Periwinkle until May 28, and Las Casitas has until sometime in June — residents and their supporters appeared at the City Council meeting to urge councilmembers to take action on several proposals that could help them. Nowhere to Go Outside the council chambers, mobile home park resi- dents and their supporters handed out water and snacks. They beat on drums and lifted protest signs into the air in a last-ditch effort to be heard. For months, residents and their supporters rallied, attended city meetings, and even held benefit concerts. Through organizing, residents of Periwinkle succeeded in forcing GCU to offer some concessions, including an extension of the eviction deadline. “They didn’t offer us anything from the beginning. We fought for all that,” Alondra Ruiz Vazquez told Phoenix New Times. Ruiz Vazquez has lived in the Periwinkle park for years. Although most residents own their trailers, they don’t own the land on which the trailers sit. Additionally, it’s difficult to relocate aging mobile homes without them sustaining damage. Relocating is also expensive, and there are limited places to go. Staff with Trellis, a nonprofit that is providing assistance to some of the residents, told a City Council subcommittee on March 6 that it hasn’t been able to relocate any trailers. During the March 22 council meeting, many residents testified that they still had no place to go. For some residents, the issue is less about finding new homes than it is about leaving behind the ones they built. A Weldon Court resident, who gave his name as Joel, described the work that he and his family had done on his trailer. He worked in construction during the day, and in the evenings, he would work on his home, he said through a translator. “We changed the plumbing. We changed flooring. We painted. My brother and my nephews after school would come to help me so that my little home would look nice,” he told the City Council. “Remembering my family working on my home is what makes it valuable to me. I put all my savings and my dreams in it,” he added. While GCU owns Periwinkle, shell companies are listed as owners of the other two parks, according to records from the Maricopa County Assessor’s Office. Weldon Court is owned by a Phoenix limited liability company called Casa Oaks Weldon. The Las Casitas park is owned by a Colorado LLC called Kerru. | NEWS | Katya Schwenk Win McNamee / Getty Images Jacob Chansley screams inside the U.S. Senate chambers in 2021. >> p14 Residents of three Phoenix mobile home parks and their supporters protested at a City Council meeting on March 22.
