COLUMBUS, Ind. (WXIN) — The Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed an Indiana metal guitarist was arrested in connection with this month’s deadly storming of the U.S. Capitol.
Authorities said Jon Ryan Schaffer turned himself in Sunday at 3 p.m. in the Indianapolis area. He faces six charges “including engaging in an act of physical violence in a Capitol building,” the FBI Indianapolis said on Twitter.
Shortly after the Jan. 6 attack, music publications alleged that police in Washington D.C. were looking for Schaffer, who is the guitarist and songwriter for the heavy metal band Iced Earth. In photograph #25 posted on the FBI Most Wanted page, the man alleged to be Schaffer is seen wearing a cap embroidered with the logo of the armed militia group Oath Keepers.
On January 12, Billboard Magazine reported fellow Iced Earth band members released a statement condemning the attack on the Capitol. The statement, in part, read as follows:
“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. We hope that all those involved that day are brought to justice to be investigated and answer for their actions.”
Billboard reported Schaffer’s name was not attached to the statement.
Iced Earth was founded by Schaffer in Tampa, Florida in the 1980s and subsequently released 12 studio albums beginning in 1990.
