According to CNN, Iced Earth’s Jon Schaffer is the first to plead guilty for his role in the Capitol riot that took place on January 6th. The guitarist is cooperating with prosecutors and has pleaded guilty to two out of the six charges against him: obstruction of an official proceeding and entering a building with a dangerous weapon. Schaffer has confirmed what we’ve seen in photos that he carried bear spray into the Capitol building during the formal Congress certification of the Electoral College votes.
Schaffer has been working on a plea deal as prosecutors and the guitarist’s attorney’s agreed his sentencing will be reduced to 3.5 and 4.5 years in prison, based on his cooperation with the government. Without any deals, Schaffer could have faced up to thirty years max in prison with the first charge being punishable by up to 20 years and the second can go up to ten years.
Despite questions being raised on the Oath Keepers hat Schaffer was spotted wearing during the riot, Justice.gov reports the guitarist has acknowledged he is a founding lifetime member of the group.
