Staff Reports
Columbus native and “Iced Earth” frontman Jon Ryan Schaffer faces six federal charges, including engaging in an act of physical violence in a Capitol building, in connection to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.
A statement of facts filed in federal court by an FBI agent on Saturday states that Schaffer, 52, sprayed U.S. Capitol Police officers with “bear spray,” a form of capsaicin pepper spray sold by many outdoors retailers.
Schaffer turned himself into authorities in Indianapolis at 3 p.m. on Sunday, according to wire reports.
Additional charges filed against Schaffer include:
Knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority.
Disrupting the orderly conduct of government business.
Knowingly engaging in an act of physical violence against any person or property in any restricted building or grounds.
Violent entry and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building.
Parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building.
Soon after the riot, Schaffer was identified in video footage and photos inside the Capitol building. The FBI said Schaffer was quickly identified due to being a person of “some celebrity” in the heavy metal music industry. A most-wanted poster by the FBI had Schaffer labeled as No. 25.
Video shows Schaffer carrying the spray and “engaging in verbal altercations” with Capitol Police officers, the statement says.
Photos show Schaffer wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt under a tactical vest with a baseball cap that reads “Oath Keepers Lifetime Member.” The FBI describes the “Oath Keepers” as an organization “that characterizes itself as a militia of former law enforcement and military personnel and has often, as a group, urged President (Donald) Trump to declare Martial Law in order to prevent the Congress from certifying the Electoral College Results.”
The statement of fact said Schaffer has “long held extremist views,” has identified himself as an “anarchist” and has referred to the federal government as a “criminal enterprise.”
Schaffer participated in the “Million MAGA March” in Washington D.C. with other Oath Keepers members on Nov. 14, and was photographed wearing the same sweatshirt as he did on Jan. 6.
In March, during a video interview where he identified himself as Jon Schaffer from Indiana, Schaffer said “…People need to wake up and snap out of the Matrix, because they’re going down. They made the move, they’re messing with the wrong people here, trust me on that. And we needed it to be open like this. Open fraud. Open theft. Because now we see you, and you’re going down, mark my words.”
Later in the interview, Schaffer did not dismiss that violence was a possibility, according to the court statement.
“We’re not going to merge into some globalist, communist system, it will not happen,” Schaffer said. “There will be a lot of bloodshed if it comes down to that, trust me. The American people will not go for that (expletive) once they understand what’s actually happening. So that’s where we’re at. Nobody wants this, but they’re pushing us to a point where we have no choice.”
Police have not yet released a specific address for Schaffer’s residence, although the FBI listed his city of residence as Columbus.
On Monday, Chris Bavender, an FBI Indianapolis spokeswoman, said that Schaffer was being held at the Marion County Jail.
