On January 6th, election deniers stormed the Capitol Building in Washington, DC, among them Jon Schaffer, guitarist and songwriter of American power metal band Iced Earth. In April, Schaffer walked free from jail for the first time since the incident. Now, details have emerged about Schaffer’s time in jail, which apparently included death threats and assault with bodily fluids.
According to details published by Indianapolis newspaper The Indy Star, Schaffer was apparently placed in “administrative segregation,” meaning he did not interact with the general population of the jail for safety concerns. However, Schaffer’s attorney, Marc J. Victor said during a detention hearing Schaffer had undergone abuse from other inmates, saying, “My client, who is presumed innocent, has just gone through two months of hell where other people were throwing feces at him and urine at him and threatening his life in a horrible, horrible situation.”
“On March 7 a deputy with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office removed Schaffer from his cell block after Schaffer said he ‘was in fear for his personal safety,’ the deputy reported,” said incident reports from the guitarit’s time in jail. “Schaffer informed the deputy about problems he was having with a specific inmate.
“The next day, it was reported that jail staff received an emergency grievance from Schaffer. Three inmates, including the one mentioned in the March 7 report, were making death threats against him.
“Block ‘4F’ has been locked-down all-day due to these threats, and will continue to remain locked-down until inmate Schaffer can be reclassed from the block.”
The Star goes on to question how or why Schaffer was targeted from other prisoners given his separation from them. As for motive, Scaffer’s attorney said it was because of Schaffer’s role in the January 6th riots.
In mid-April, Schaffer pled guilty to charges of “obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress” and “trespassing on restricted grounds of the Capitol while armed with a deadly or dangerous weapon.” Schaffer, it should be noted, was the first Capitol rioter to reach a plea deal.
As reported by Metal Injection, Schaffer is on bail with the following conditions:
- He must submit to court supervision in Indiana.
- He must surrender his passport and international traveling documents
- He must stay out of Washington D.C., outside of court hearings and attorney meetings
- He will be permitted to travel within the US with notice to pretrial services
- He cannot possess any firearms or explosive devices, even legally. Firearms must be removed from his home.
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Words by Chris Krovatin
