Jon Schaffer, of Iced Earth, surrendered to authorities after participating in the January 6 pro-Trump mafia uprising at the United States Capitol building, while Electoral College votes for now-elected President Joe Biden were certified.
WishTV reports that the FBI has confirmed that Schaffer surrendered around 3 p.m. ET.
“Jon Schaffer, Columbus, IN, has been arrested in connection with the January 6 incident at the US Chapter,” an official FBI statement said. “Schaffer faces 6 charges, including involvement in an act of physical violence in a Capitol building. Schaffer was reportedly among the rioters who sprayed the Capitol police with” bear spray. “
Photos inside the Chapter at the time of the uprising appeared online from photos from the media and journalists who were also inside, now covering the historic attack.
A widely circulated photo, seen above, showed Schaffer as one of many participants, and fans quickly recognized him as the founder of Iced Earth, promptly tagging authorities on Twitter as they -revealed the identity.
In the hours and days after the uprising, the Columbia District Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI worked to identify dozens of perpetrators, sharing images of the violent outbreak this afternoon. The photo of Schaffer was among those images, where police were listed as “persons of interest” for the crime of illegal entry. The same photo was used by the FBI, which later declared it the “most wanted” target.
The photo shows Schaffer in a blue hood, fingerless black gloves and a hat that says “Oath Keepers Lifetime Member.” The Oath Keepers is a far-right anti-government militia organization formed in 2009.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that regularly identifies hate groups and other internal threats to civility, said this about Oath Keepers:
The Oath Keepers, which claims tens of thousands of law enforcement officers present and former military veterans as members, is one of the largest radical anti-government groups in the United States today. While claiming only to defend the Constitution, the entire organization relies on a set of unfounded conspiracy theories about the federal government working to destroy American freedoms.
Prior to the events of January 6, Schaffer, who lives in Indiana, was present in Washington DC for a pro-Trump rally on November 15, eight days after the presidential race was called for Joe Biden. While there, he spoke video with the German press The world, about his reasons for participating and his thoughts on the potential for violence at the rally.
The full transcript of the interview posted (via Blabbermouth) was reproduced in full below.
My name is Jon Schaffer. I’m from Indiana.
A group of thugs and criminals hijacked this country a long time ago. Now they are making their big move and it will not happen. And that’s it. They are globalists. These are the foam of the earth. These are the criminals who are behind all the fraudulent taxes on the currency, they are behind all the wars, they are behind all the shit, they are behind the tactics of division and conquest, behind the racial division. Everything is stupid, everything is garbage.
People need to wake up and get out of the matrix, because they are down. They made the move. He’s messing with the wrong people here – trust me. And I needed it to be open like this – open fraud, open theft. Because now we see you and you go down. Remember.
If anyone wants to bring violence, I think there are many of us who are prepared for that. We don’t want that, but if I bring it, we’ll answer it – trust me.
I think this is beyond President Trump. President Trump is a populist. He’s not your typical Republican. He is not an establishment. They don’t go to war everywhere, as they do. What’s funny – where are all the anti-war Democrats?
There is so much hatred for Trump, it’s just ridiculous. It has to do with a criminal mafia that has been in the shadows running the world, honestly, for a very long time. They want to destroy all our sovereignty and create a global government.
We don’t have it. We can still do business together, the countries can still be at peace, but we will not merge into a globalist communist system. It will not happen. There will be a lot of bloodshed if it comes down to this – believe me.
The American people will not leave for that nonsense – once they understand what is actually happening. So there we are. Nobody wants this, but it pushes us to a point where we have no choice.
We will continue to update this story as more information becomes available.