Iced Earth guitarist Jon Schaffer was arrested on Sunday (Jan. 17) after turning himself into authorities following his appearance on the FBI’s ‘Most Wanted’ list for his participation in the riot at the Capitol. A photo of Schaffer, taken in the Capitol, captured him wearing an “Oath Keepers Lifetime Member” hat. CNN is now reporting that Thomas Caldwell, a leader of the far-right anti-governmental group, has been tasked with planning and coordinating part of the January 6 attack.
The Oath Keepers is an extremist, conspiracy-laden group made up largely of current and former law enforcement and military veterans who claim to defend the US Constitution. Court documents show that the Justice Department partially charged 65-year-old Caldwell from Virginia with conspiracy.
“Data obtained from Facebook shows that Caldwell was involved in planning and coordinating the breach on the Capitol on January 6 [separately charges plaintiff] Watkins, Crowl and other members of the Oath Keeper militia took part, “reads part of the request.
It is not known whether Schaffer belonged to the alleged group of eight to ten rioters, all of whom wore Oath Keepers paraphernalia, who “ moved in an organized and practiced manner and made their way to the front of the crowd surrounding a door. to the Capitol. , “per CNN.
Schaffer, who is currently facing six federal charges and seen wielding ‘bear spray’ in the Capitol – a capsaicin-based aerosol deterrent designed to provide weapons against hostile or aggressive bears. The FBI alleges that Schaffer was involved in a verbal argument with police officers and was seen with a group of rioters who used the aerosol deterrents against Capitol Police officers.
He turned himself into the Hamilton County Police Department in his home state of Indiana on Sunday afternoon (Jan. 17). Local news outlet Wish-TV recently reported that the founder of Iced Earth has since been transferred to Marion County Jail, where he will stay for the next week pending an appearance before a US magistrate. It is possible that Schaffer will be released on bail after that hearing takes place.
Earlier today (Jan. 19), it was reported that Schaffer’s bands – Iced Earth and Demons & Wizards – were no longer listed on the Century Media Records webpage, the home of both groups.
Repeated requests for comment from Century Media as this story continues to develop have not been answered.
For the siege of the US Capitol, Schaffer traveled to Washington DC to participate in a pro-Trump rally on Nov. 15, just over a week after the presidential race was called for President-elect Joe Biden. Schaffer spoke to a German news outlet The world during the meeting. He was asked about his purpose for being there and his views on the potential for violence.
It’s worth noting that Schaffer’s rhetoric is consistent with some of the Oath Keepers group’s conspiratorial claims, as detailed by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The full transcript of the posted interview (via Blabbermouth) is replicated in its entirety below.
My name is Jon Schaffer. I am from Indiana.
A group of thugs and criminals hijacked this country long ago. Now they are making their big move, and it won’t happen. And that’s it. These are globalists. These are the scum of the earth. These are the criminals behind all the fraudulent currency charges, they are behind all the wars, they are behind all the shit, they are behind divide and conquer tactics, behind the racial divide. It’s all bullshit, it’s all rubbish.
People have to wake up and jump out of the matrix because they are going down. They have taken the step. They’re playing with the wrong people here – believe me. And we needed to be that open – outright fraud, outright theft. Because we see you now and you go down. Mark my words.
If anyone wants to bring violence, I think many of us are ready. We don’t want to, but if they bring it, we’ll respond – trust me.
I think this goes beyond President Trump. President Trump is a populist. He’s not your typical Republican. He is not established. He’s not going to start wars everywhere like her. What’s funny – where are all the Democrats who were anti-war?
There is so much hatred for Trump, it is just ridiculous. He’s dealing with a criminal mafia that, frankly, has been in the shadows for a long time. They want to destroy all of our sovereignty and establish world government.
We don’t have it. We can still do business together, the countries can still have peace, but we’re not going to get lost in some globalist, communist system. It will not happen. A lot of blood will be shed, when it comes down to it – believe me.
The American people will not go for that nonsense – once they understand what is really happening. So that’s where we stand. Nobody wants this, but they push us to a point where we have no choice.