A member of the Oath Keepers, Jon Ryan Schaffer, has filed the first guilty plea in the historic investigation into the January 6 attack on the Capitol, which resulted in the arrests of more than 400 people.
The plea deal comes 100 days after the attack on the Capitol, when hundreds of former President Trump’s supporters stormed the legislative building, reportedly with the aim of blocking Congressional certification of Joe Biden as the next president.
In his plea deal, Schaffer, 53, said he was a lifelong founding member of the Oath Keepers, a large, loosely organized collection of individuals and militias, prosecutors said. Schaffer – a guitarist and member of the heavy metal band “Iced Earth” – wore a tactical vest and bear spray while in DC to protest the results of the presidential election, admitting to being one of the first to pass the damaged doors and entered the Capitol, the Justice Department said.
The plea marks a new chapter in the government’s extensive investigation as prosecutors pursue verdicts in a growing list of cases and seek to better understand the scope of planning and organization among the groups present in the attack.
Schaffer was arrested and initially charged with six crimes – including assaulting police officers with bear spray – but he pleaded guilty to just two charges on Friday: obstruction of official proceedings and entering and remaining in a confined building or site with a deadly or dangerous weapon. . Combined, the charges carried a maximum sentence of up to 30 years in prison.
By pleading guilty, Schaffer agreed to cooperate fully with prosecutors, and in return, the judge said the government is willing to file a motion that could allow him to be sentenced under a lower recommended range. Based on his lack of criminal history, the judge said, his recommended sentence was between 41 and 51 months – about three to four years.
Schaffer turned himself in to FBI agents on Jan. 18 and is behind bars in Indianapolis. The defendant was photographed at the Capitol on January 6, wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt under a tactical vest with a baseball cap that read, “Oath Keepers Lifetime Member,” according to the initial federal indictment. He was featured in bear spray photos and surveillance video and participated in verbal arguments with Capitol Police officers in the Capitol Building.
Acting Deputy Attorney General John P. Carlin said in a statement, “The FBI has made an average of more than four arrests a day, seven days a week since January 6. to bring it to justice. “