News of the World

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‘QAnon Shaman’ Jacob Chansley Released Early
From Prison After Newly Disclosed Jan. 6 Footage

The man known as the QAnon Shaman, who pleaded guilty to breaching the U.S. Capitol, has been released from prison early after Fox News aired footage of him being escorted by police officers inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Jacob Chansley, 35, was moved to a halfway house in Phoenix on March 28, a U.S. Bureau of Prisons spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an email. He had been serving a 41-month sentence, handed down in November 2021, in federal prison after pleading guilty to one count of obstructing an official proceeding.

The release comes after Fox News’ Tucker Carlson broadcast never-before-seen footage that showed U.S. Capitol Police officers walking around inside the Capitol with Chansley.
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While Chansley was expecting to serve nearly his full sentence in prison, Shipley noted that federal inmates can get early release for good behavior and participation in various programs.

“I didn’t do anything extraordinary—this was always the schedule, I just understood it and could explain it to him,” Shipley said.
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Before the First Step Act, enacted by former President Donald Trump, federal inmates could earn up to 54 days of good conduct time for each year of their sentence served. Under the law, inmates can now earn up to 54 days of good conduct time for each year of their imposed sentence.

Shipley said in another post that the videos played on Fox “DID NOT play a role” in Chansley’s release.

The final months of the sentence were always going to be served at a halfway house, Shipley said. He also reiterated that his client received time off for completing bureau programs, in addition to the credit for being on good behavior.
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Shipley recently told The Epoch Times that he intends to file a motion to vacate Chansley’s conviction.

The motion involves federal code that states a “prisoner in custody under sentence of a court established by Act of Congress claiming the right to be released upon the ground that the sentence was imposed in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States.”

18 Chinese Warplanes, 4 Vessels Detected Near Taiwan Amid Tsai’s Visit to US

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) sent 18 aircraft and four naval vessels toward Taiwan on Saturday, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said, as Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen visited the island’s Central American allies.

Taiwan’s military detected the Chinese aircraft and naval vessels at around 6 a.m. (local time), with 10 aircraft spotted crossing the Taiwan Strait median line, the ministry said in a statement posted on Twitter.

Taiwan responded by deploying aircraft, navy vessels, and land-based missile systems to monitor the Chinese military’s activities.

This came after Beijing threatened retaliation if Tsai meets with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) during her 10-day trip to Guatemala and Belize—two of the 13 nations that have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan—which began on March 29.

Tsai arrived in Guatemala on Friday and met with her counterpart, Alejandro Giammattei. The two nations signed a “basic cooperation agreement” after the leaders’ meeting, according to Tsai’s Office.

The Taiwanese leader is expected to visit Belize afterward and make stopovers in Los Angeles on her way back.
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However, China’s charge d’affaires Xu Xueyuan said the CCP views her transit as a disguise for Tsai’s intention to advocate Taiwan’s independence and warned that it could lead to “serious confrontation in the U.S.-China relationship.”
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U.S. National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said the transit was in line with policy and the history of trilateral relations between the United States, China, and Taiwan.

Japan Tightens Chipmaking Equipment Exports Amid US-China Tech Spat

Japan will impose export restrictions on 23 semiconductor manufacturing equipment, the government said on Friday, amid an ongoing spat between the United States and China over chip technology.

The export control measures will take effect in July and cover equipment for cleaning, checkups, and lithography—a key technology in manufacturing advanced semiconductors—according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).
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Japan said that 42 countries, including the United States and Taiwan, will continue receiving the equipment under a simplified export measure. But China was not among them and will be subject to stricter controls.

The new regulation will affect equipment manufactured by 10 Japanese companies, including Tokyo Electron Ltd. However, Nishimura said he expected minimal impact on local companies as the rules only target “extremely advanced” technology.
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Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning criticized Japan’s move, saying that “weaponizing trade and tech issues and destabilizing the global industrial and supply chains benefit no one and will eventually backfire.”

The move came ahead of Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi’s visit to Beijing this weekend for talks with his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang, the first such visit by a Japanese foreign minister in three years.

According to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the two leaders will have “in-depth exchanges of views on bilateral relations and international and regional issues of shared interest.”
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Japan once dominated chip production but has seen its market share slip to about 10 percent. Still, it remains a major supplier of chipmaking machines and semiconductor materials.

Japan’s export controls will be seen as a major win for the United States, which in October imposed sweeping restrictions on access to chipmaking technology to slow China’s technological and military advances.

US Extends Carrier Deployment After Syria Attack

The United States has decided to extend the deployment of the George H.W. Bush carrier strike group to provide options to policymakers after last week’s deadly attacks in Syria by Iran-backed forces, U.S. military officials said on Friday.

The decision likely means the Bush strike group and its more than 5,000 U.S. forces, which are now in the European Command operational area, will not be returning to home port in the United States on schedule.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) spokesperson Colonel Joe Buccino confirmed the carrier group’s extension, which was first reported by Reuters.
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Buccino also noted a scheduled, expedited deployment of a squadron of A-10 attack aircraft to the region.

News of the deployment came a day after the Pentagon doubled its tally of the number of American troops wounded in last week’s attacks in Syria to 12, following the diagnosis of six U.S. military personnel with traumatic brain injuries.

The attacks also killed an American contractor and injured another.
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The White House said on Monday that the incidents would not trigger a U.S. pullback from the nearly eight-year-old U.S. deployment to Syria, where American troops and local Kurdish-led partners are battling the remnants of Islamic State.