Iced Earth guitarist Jon Schaffer faces six criminal charges related to January 6 Trump rally violence

Iced Earth leader Jon Schaffer is facing six criminal charges relating to the riotous scenes at the US Capitol building in Washington DC on January 6. 

Having been photographed among angry demonstrators who stormed the Capitol as the US Congress convened to certify Joe Biden’s victory in November’s Presidential elections, Schaffer turned himself in to authorities on the afternoon of January 17, according to a statement by the FBI Indianapolis Field Office. The guitarist, who lives in Columbus, Indiana, will now face six criminal charges arising from the violent protests, in which five lives were lost. 

According to the FBI Indianapolis Field Office, the six charges Schaffer is facing are:

1) Knowingly Entering or Remaining in any Restricted Building or Grounds Without Lawful Authority

2) Disrupting the Orderly Conduct of Government Business

3) Knowingly Engages in an Act of Physical Violence Against any Person or Property in any Restricted Building or Grounds

4) Violent Entry and Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building

5) Engage in an Act of Physical Violence in a Capitol Building

6) Parade, Demonstrate, or Picket in a Capitol Building

In relation to charge number five, Schaffer is alleged to have been among rioters who sprayed Capitol police with ‘bear spray’, an extra-strength form of pepper spray.

More than 200 people are currently under FBI investigation in connection to the scenes of insurrectionary violence on January 6. 

In the wake of the violent clashes in DC, Schaffer’s bandmates released a statement voicing their opposition to the alarming scenes at the Capitol. 

"We absolutely DO NOT condone nor do we support riots or the acts of violence that the rioters were involved in on January 6th at the US Capitol building," they wrote. "We hope that all those involved that day are brought to justice to be investigated and answer for their actions."