A federal judge agreed on Tuesday to release a QAnon supporter from jail on house detention six months after he stormed the US Capitol, which he mistook for the White House.
Douglas Jensen, 41, from Iowa, wearing a T-shirt bearing the letter 'Q,' a symbol of the QAnon conspiracy theory, was videotaped confronting hero US Capitol police officer Eugene Goodman in one of the most menacing images of the January 6 insurrection.
Jensen followed Goodman up two flights of stairs as the officer singlehandedly diverted the mob chanting 'hang Mike Pence' away from the Senate Chamber while the vice president was still inside.
US District Judge Timothy Kelly said deciding whether to free Jensen from jail pending trial was a 'close case,' but he ultimately agreed to release the Des Moines resident on house arrest with electronic location monitoring. The judge also barred him from accessing the internet on any electronic devices.
Doug Jensen, a January 6 Capitol rioter, pictured in a QAnon shirt confronting hero police officer Eugene Goodwin, was ordered released on house arrest
Goodwin was praised for diverting the mob, led by Jensen, away from the Senate Chamber
The judge said Jensen’s actions during his confrontation of Goodman were 'deeply concerning and quite serious.' But he noted that Jensen is not accused of toppling any barricades, damaging any property or fighting with anybody at the Capitol.
'That said, he clearly disobeyed Officer Goodman and other officers, and he did position himself near the front of a mob as he ran up the stairs toward Officer Goodman,' the judge said. 'That may be some leadership, but only in the narrowest sense.'
Jensen, 41, from Iowa, faces charges including civil disorder and assaulting, resisting or impeding a law enforcement officer
Kelly noted that cellphone video captured Jensen repeatedly referring to the Capitol building as the White House.
In one clip, Jensen is seen touching the wall of the Capitol building while saying; 'this is me, touching the f***ing White House.'
In another video, the Iowa man screams: 'storm the White House! That's what we do!'
The judge said he didn’t believe that Jensen could have coordinated with others or planned an attack in advance 'when he had no basic understanding of where he even was that day.'
Prosecutors said Jensen is a self-proclaimed 'digital soldier' and 'religious' adherent of QAnon, the conspiracy theory that has centered on the baseless belief that former President Donald Trump was secretly waging a campaign against a Satan-worshipping, child sex trafficking cabal of 'deep state' enemies, Hollywood
