Iced Earth guitarist Jon Schaffer was arrested on Sunday (January 17th) after becoming a member of the FBI’s “Most Wanted” list for his involvement in the Capitol Building riot. A photograph of Schaffer, taken inside the Chapter, caught him wearing an “Oath Keepers Lifetime Member” hat. CNN now reports that Thomas Caldwell, a leader of the far-right anti-government group, has been accused of planning and coordinating part of the January 6 attack.
The Oath Keepers is an extremist, conspiracy-ridden group made up of current and former law enforcement officers and military veterans who claim to defend the US Constitution. Court documents indicate that the Justice Department partially charged Caldwell, 65, of Virginia, with conspiracy.
“Facebook records indicate that Caldwell was involved in planning and coordinating the U.S. Chapter violation on January 6 [separately charges plaintiff] Watkins, Crowl and other members of the Oath Keeper militia took part, “reads part of the file.
It is not known whether Schaffer was among the alleged groups of eight to 10 gunmen, who wore all Oath Keepers equipment, who moved “in an organized and practiced manner and forced their way into the crowd gathered around a doors to the US Chapter, “on CNN.
Schaffer, who is currently facing six federal charges and was seen wearing a “bear spray” – a capsaicin-based aerosol deterrent designed to arm himself against hostile or aggressive bears – while in Chapter . The FBI claims that Schaffer was involved in a verbal altercation with police officers and was seen among a group of rioters who had carried out deterrent measures against police officers in the Capitol.
He turned into Hamilton County police on Sunday afternoon (January 17) in his home state of Indiana. Local Wish-TV news reported most recently that the founder of Iced Earth has been transferred to the Marion County Jail, where he will remain next week while awaiting an appearance before an American magistrate. Schaffer may be released on bail after the hearing.
Earlier today (January 19) it was reported that Schaffer’s bands – Iced Earth and Demons & Wizards – were no longer listed on Century Media Records, the record label of both groups.
Repeated requests for comment from Century Media as this story continues to unfold went unanswered.
Prior to the siege of the US Chapter, Schaffer traveled to Washington DC to attend a pro-Trump rally on November 15, just over a week after the presidential race was called for President-elect Joe Biden. Schaffer spoke to the German press The world while at the rally. He was asked the purpose of being there and his thoughts on the potential for violence.
It is noteworthy that Schaffer’s rhetoric aligns with some of the conspiracy claims made by the Oath Keepers group, as detailed by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
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 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.
American people will not go after that shit – 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.