WASHINGTON — A Tuesday hearing is planned to determine whether Jon R. Schaffer may be released from a Washington D.C. jail as he awaits trial for his alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
The detention order review will be held via teleconference with United States District Court for the District of Columbia Chief Judge Beryl A. Howell at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday. On March 31, Howell signed an order directing the government to provide the review by noon on Monday.
Schaffer, 53, Edinburgh, was ordered to be held without bond in D.C. on March 24 after a hearing with Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui on March 19 determined that there was “clear and convincing evidence that Mr. Schaffer was a danger to the community and that no condition or combination of conditions would reasonably assure the safety of any other person or the community if Mr. Schaffer was released,” court documents stated.
While Faruqui ordered that Schaffer stay incarcerated until trial, there’s a possibility he still could be released after review.
A growing number of people charged in the Jan. 6 riot who were initially held without bond have been sent home in recent weeks.
In an amended motion submitted by Schaffer’s lawyers on March 31, the defense cited the recent court case of “United States v. Munchel” in their argument to grant Schaffer pretrial release.
Eric Gavelek Munchel, known as the “Zip-tie guy,” and his mother, Lisa Marie Eisenhart, were both granted bond and allowed to return home on Monday.
The two were both arrested days after Jan. 6, and had been in jail without bond despite a Nashville magistrate judge’s order to release them, according to the Associated Press. That decision was appealed, but a D.C. district court judge sided with federal prosecutors’ claims that the pair were too dangerous to be released before trial.
That order didn’t hold up, as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit District Court Judge Royce Lamberth reheard the bond request earlier this week, and rather than argue they be kept in jail, prosecutors asked Lamberth to place them under house arrest, according to wire reports.
Under their current order, Munchel and Eisenhart are required to stay in their homes, except for tasks such as work, school, religious services, medical appointments, attorney and court visits, and other pre-approved activities, the Associated Press reported. The mother and son can’t possess firearms and must wear a GPS monitor and submit to drug tests.
In the motion by Schaffer’s attorneys, which also cites the Bail Reform Act, they claim the “government did not present evidence or argue Mr. Schaffer presented an articulable threat. Magistrate Judge Faruqui ordered Mr. Schaffer detained on an unarticulated and hypothetic fear Mr. Schaffer might engage in violent and destructive behavior in the future,” court documents state.
Schaffer has been accused of six federal crimes in connection with his involvement during the Jan. 6 siege. He has been in custody since turning himself in to Indiana law enforcement on Jan. 17 after an FBI statement of fact was filed for his arrest. The statement of fact alleges Schaffer used a type of bear repellent against Capitol police during the riot.
Photos and video from the insurrection show Schaffer inside the Capitol building wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt under a tactical vest with a baseball cap that reads “Oath Keepers Lifetime Member.”
The FBI has labeled the Oath Keepers as a far-right militia group that “as a group urged President Trump to declare Martial Law in order to prevent the Congress from certifying the Electoral College Results.” The Indiana Oath Keepers have denied Schaffer is a member.
Schaffer was held in the Marion County Jail until his warrant was executed on March 18. He is of moderate fame for his heavy metal band “Iced Earth” and side projects “Demons and Wizards” and “Sons of Liberty.”
