ICED EARTH guitarist Jon Schaffer has been transferred to federal custody and is to be extradited to Washington, D.C.
Indiana Public Media reporter Brock E.W. Turner tweeted: “US Marshals confirmed tonight Jon Ryan Schaffer (Indiana man accused in Capitol insurrection) is in their custody. I’ll share more updates when available.”
Schaffer, who resides in in Edinburgh, Indiana, was photographed wearing an “Oath Keepers Lifetime Member” cap during the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. He is facing six federal criminal charges after he was accused of spraying a police officer with a pepper-based bear repellant.
The Oath Keepers describe themselves as an association of former law enforcement and military personnel dedicated to “support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” But the Anti-Defamation League describes it as “a large but loosely organized collection of right-wing anti-government extremists who are part of the militia movement, which believes that the federal government has been coopted by a shadowy conspiracy that is trying to strip American citizens of their rights.”
Indiana Public Media reported last Friday that Schaffer waived a preliminary hearing after he was charged with multiple federal crimes at this month’s insurrection.
Schaffer made his first court appearance on January 18 after turning himself in to police in Hamilton County the day before. He faces six federal charges, including engaging in an act of physical violence in a Capitol building.
The guitarists’ ICED EARTH bandmates put out a statement on Instagram and Facebook opposing the Schaffer’s involvement in the insurrection, saying: “We absolutely DO NOT condone nor do we support riots or the acts of violence that the rioters were involved in on January 6th at the US Capitol building,” they wrote. “We hope that all those involved that day are brought to justice to be investigated and answer for their actions.”
Schaffer is also a member of power metal supergroup DEMONS & WIZARDS, which features BLIND GUARDIAN frontman Hansi Kürsch. He also had a solo project called SONS OF LIBERTY.
UPDATE: US Marshals confirmed tonight Jon Ryan Schaffer (Indiana man accused in Capitol insurrection) is in their custody. I’ll share more updates when available. https://t.co/RXxlalgkNX
— Brock E.W. Turner (@BrockEWTurner) January 27, 2021