Page 24 - Ryan Schaffer News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Help Save People's World The economic crisis has hit People's World hard. We need the support of all our friends and readers to continue publishing. Heavy metal guitarist first to plead guilty in rightwing Capitol insurrection April 16, 2021 12:42 PM CDT By Michael Balsamo And Alanna Durkin Richer Hundreds have been arrested so far for their role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Investigators are getting information from arrestees they hope to use to determine the names of the chief leaders of the insurrection both i...

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...

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...

In this Jan. 6. 2021, file photo, people storm the Capitol in Washington. A blistering internal report by the U.S. Capitol Police describes a multitude of missteps that left the force unprepared for the Jan. 6 insurrection — riot shields that shattered upon impact, expired weapons that couldn’t be used, inadequate training and an intelligence division that had few set standards. AP WASHINGTON — 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 t...

An email seeking comment was sent to an attorney for Schaffer. Schaffer is among more than 370 people facing federal charges in the deadly insurrection, which sent lawmakers into hiding and delayed the certification of Biden's win. The Justice Department has indicated it is in separate plea negotiations with other defendants. Authorities say Schaffer was caught on camera holding bear spray and engaging in verbal altercations with officers in the Capitol. Schaffer was wearing a baseball hat that read “Oath Keepers Lifetime Member” on Jan. 6, but was not charged in the large case involving ...