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By MICHAEL BALSAMO and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — A member of the far-right Oath Keepers militia group and heavy metal guitarist on Friday became the first defendant to plead guilty to federal charges in connection with the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Jon Ryan Schaffer, the frontman of the band Iced Earth, has agreed to cooperate with investigators in hopes of getting a lighter sentence, and the Justice Department will consider putting Schaffer in the federal witness security program, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta said. This signals that fe...

By Adele M. Stan | April 19, 2021 5:53 pm Stewart Rhodes, founder of Oath Keepers, speaks to the crowd during a pro-2nd amendment rally in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, on January 19, 2013. Photo: Gregory Johnston via Shutterstock   Before investigators and journalists even began to reconstruct the events of Jan. 6, 2021, the presence of Oath Keepers loomed large. A belligerent organization comprising active and retired law enforcement officers and members of the military, Oath Keepers members pledge to not enforce any order that they themselves deem to be unconstitutional. At one of the rallie...

Garland Leads Commemoration of Oklahoma City Bombing Katie Benner © Amr Alfiky/The New York Times Attorney General Merrick B. Garland at the White House earlier this month. He has vowed to focus on combatting domestic violent extremism. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said on Monday that the Justice Department was pouring resources into its effort to stop domestic violent extremists and that those who attacked the United States would be brought to justice, in a speech commemorating the 26th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing. As a young Justice Department official...

This signals that federal prosecutors see him as a valuable cooperator as they continue to investigate militia groups and other extremists involved in the insurrection on 6 January as Congress was meeting to certify Joe Biden’s electoral win. Schaffer, a supporter of Donald Trump, was accused of storming the Capitol and spraying police officers with bear spray. He pleaded guilty in a deal with prosecutors in federal court in Washington to two counts: obstruction of an official proceeding, and entering and remaining in a restricted building with a dangerous or deadly weapon. An email seeking...

Apr 17, 2021 WASHINGTON (AP) — A member of the far-right Oath Keepers militia group and heavy metal guitarist on Friday became the first defendant to plead guilty to federal charges in connection with the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Jon Ryan Schaffer, the frontman of the band Iced Earth, has agreed to cooperate with investigators in hopes of getting a lighter sentence, and the Justice Department will consider putting Schaffer in the federal witness security program, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta said. This signals that federal prosecutors see him as a valuable cooperator as they con...