Judge orders DOJ to return helmet, spear to 'QAnon Shaman' Jacob Chansley

• "QAnon Shaman" Jacob Chansley can get back the spear and helmet he wore during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, a federal judge ruled.
• Chansley was among the first to storm the Capitol on that day in 2021, when lawmakers convened to confirm President Joe Biden's 2020 election victory over then-President Donald Trump.
• He was one of the first rioters to be indicted by the DOJ, which has since filed charges against nearly 1,500 defendants.

"QAnon Shaman" Jacob Chansley will regain possession of the makeshift spear and horned helmet that he carried as he stormed the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot with other Trump supporters, a federal judge ruled Monday.

The Department of Justice failed to show why it still needed his property, which had made him an iconic face of the Capitol riot, Judge Royce Lamberth wrote in an order in Washington, D.C., federal court.

"Since the government has not established that it still needs these items as evidence and has not sought their forfeiture, the Court will GRANT Mr. Chansley's motion," Lamberth wrote.

The DOJ last month said it wanted to hold on to Chansley's property, because despite having expressed remorse at his criminal sentencing, he has since challenged his conviction and sentence.

"In other words, the government would like to ensure finality in the appellate process in this and other cases," U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves wrote in the July 12 court filing.

Lamberth was unconvinced by that argument.

"Even if the government may need to reprove Mr. Chansley's guilt, the government has not explained why it would need his property," the judge wrote in Monday's order.

"As there is voluminous video and photo evidence of Mr. Chansley's conduct, his property is