Iced Earth guitarist and songwriter Jon Schaffer was photographed among the members of a pro-Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol Building earlier today (Jan. 6) as lawmakers attempted to count Electoral College votes and certify President-elect Joe Biden’s win.
Some eagle-eyed metal fans first singled out Schaffer from fellow rioters in a photo shot by Roberto Schmidt for Getty Images, which you can see below.
Earlier in the day Schaffer was apparently interviewed by a German daily newspaper called Die Welt, as pointed out by Blabbermouth. The article does include a photo of Schaffer.
While the paper erroneously misspelled Schaffer’s name as “John Schaper,” it did note that he traveled from his home state of Indiana to Washington, D.C. for the event. Schaffer’s home state is Indiana.
“They will go down. They’re messing with the wrong people, believe me,” Schaffer is quoted as saying by German publication. And when asked if he thought there would be riots, he respond by saying, ”If someone uses violence against us, we will react accordingly. We don’t want that, but we are ready.”
The guitarist has openly discussed his conservative political views in the past including his distrust of the government and media. This summer he appeared on the MetalSucks podcast where he discussed coronavirus conspiracy theories at length.
See how rockers reacted to the rioters invading the Capitol here.