|
|
Post by Admin on Jan 9, 2021 4:08:51 GMT
The lead guitarist and founder of American heavy metal band Iced Earth is among those wanted by police for storming the US Capitol yesterday (January 6). Hordes of Donald Trump‘s supporters violently took over the Washington D.C. building as Congress were in the process of certifying Joe Biden‘s election victory. Jon Schaffer was photographed among the rioters who breached security at the Capitol and, in one image captured by AFP’s Roberto Schmidt, appeared to be wildly gesticulating in the middle of the chaotic scenes. Now, Schaffer has appeared on a PowerPoint presentation from the Metropolitan Police in D.C., which documents people sought after for “unrest-related offences” and the unlawful entry of Capitol grounds.  Schaffer’s involvement in the demonstration comes shortly after he attended a D.C. Trump rally in November to protest against the election results. “They will go down. They’re messing with the wrong people, believe me,” he told German daily newspaper Die Welt. Schaffer previously attracted controversy in July when he claimed that Covid-19 is “a psychological warfare campaign on the people more than it is a serious pandemic”. He told MetalSucks: “I think there’s a lot more going on than meets the eye here — in fact, I know there is. Legitimate doctors and scientists are being censored and banned on YouTube constantly. It’s unbelievable levels of fraud.” |
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Jan 9, 2021 21:29:01 GMT
 Iced Earth electric guitar player and founder Jon Schaffer was pictured among the mob of Donald Trump supporters who stormed the US Capitol in Washington DC yesterday, January 6. In a photo from Roberto Schmidt of the AFP agency, Schaffer can be seen among a group of rioters who pushed past police to enter the Capitol building. At the time, lawmakers were convened in a joint session of congress to count Electoral College votes and certify President-elect Joe Biden's victory. Four people died during the protests. Back in November, Schaffer was interviewed by the German newspaper Die Welt while taking part in another Trump protest in the US capital city. “They will go down. They’re messing with the wrong people, believe me,” he told the paper, adding, “If someone uses violence against us, we will react accordingly. We don’t want that, but we are ready.” During a Facebook live chat in September 2020 Schaffer expressed his distrust of the US government, stating he was neither “a left-or-right guy.” “I'm an American – that's my country, that's where I live,” he said. “I don't trust my government. I don't give a shit if it's an 'R' or a 'D' next to the name of the person. I try to understand the bigger picture. I've done a lot of reading and a lot of studying. I'm a man of my convictions, and I don't say stuff that I don't truly believe.” He continued, "You can't put your hope into one president or one person, or a mayor or a governor or whatever. You've gotta be out there and actively put pressure on these people, let 'em know you're paying attention. If you're not paying attention, they're gonna rob you and steal everything. Your freedom, too. Not just your money. They're gonna steal your fucking freedom. 'Cause they're a bunch of sick control freaks." |
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Jan 10, 2021 4:07:32 GMT
 1:25 PM PT -- Iced Earth bassist Luke Appleton has responded on behalf of his other bandmates over Jon Schaffer's alleged involvement in the Capitol insurrection ... and it sounds like they're not ready to throw him under the bus just yet. http://instagram.com/p/CJ1fRfQACqT Luke writes, "We want to thank those of you who have sent words of support in recent days. Some of you have been concerned by our silence, which we understand. We needed some time to properly process the information and find out some facts before we made a statement." He goes on to say that Iced Earth doesn't condone the violence or acts of any of the rioters at the Capitol, adding that their hearts go out to anyone adversely affected. The one thing he fails to do in his remarks ... call out Jon by name, or even acknowledge he might've been part of the mob.  What he says here (and doesn't say) is interesting ... sounds like they're still waiting on more information before fully admonishing their leader. |
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Jan 11, 2021 3:41:08 GMT
Jon Schaffer's ICED EARTH bandmates have distanced themselves from the violence and destruction of property at the U.S. Capitol building on Wednesday (January 6). The ICED EARTH guitarist and founder is among dozens of people wanted by the FBI for storming Capitol Hill that day. Earlier today, singer Stu Block, bassist Luke Appleton, drummer Brent Smedley and guitarist Jake Dreyer released the following statement: "We want to thank those of you who have sent words of support in recent days. Some of you have been concerned by our silence, which we understand. We needed some time to properly process the information and find out some facts before we made a statement. "First and foremost 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. "With broken hearts we are sending our love and compassion to everyone who has felt pain from the events on January 6th. We are deeply saddened and our hearts go out to the families of the lives lost that day. There are really no proper words to console. Just know we are with you in your shock, grief and pain. Much love to you all. "Stu, Luke, Jake, Brent". The FBI's Washington Field Office early Friday morning released 40 photos of people who are suspected of unlawful entry during a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol carried out on Wednesday during the final Congressional vote recording for the 2020 general election. Among them is a picture of Schaffer taken by Roberto Schmidt of AFP. In the photo, Schaffer can be seen at the front of a mob, sporting a hat from Oath Keepers, an anti-government militia group, and pointing his finger while yelling at someone out of the frame. Less than two months ago, Schaffer was interviewed by German daily newspaper Die Welt at another Washington, D.C. demonstration supporting President Donald Trump and protesting the 2020 presidential election results. In the two-minute chat, the 52-year-old musician told journalist Carolina Drüten: "A group of thugs and criminals hijacked this country a long time ago. Now they're making their big move, and it's not gonna happen. And that's what it is. These are globalists. These are the scum of the earth. These are the criminals that are behind all the fraudulent fee on currency, they're behind all the wars, they're behind all the shit, they're behind divide-and-conquer tactics, behind the racial divide. It's all nonsense, it's all garbage. People need to wake up and snap out of the matrix, because they're going down. They've made the move. They're messing with the wrong people here — trust me on that. And we needed it to be open like this — open fraud, open theft. Because now we see you, and you're going down. Mark my words."  He added: "I think this goes beyond President Trump. President Trump is a populist. He's not your typical Republican. He's not establishment. He's not going out starting wars all over the place, like they do. Which is funny — where are all the Democrats that were anti-war? There's so much hatred for Trump, it's just ridiculous. He's dealing with a criminal mafia that has been in the shadows running the world, frankly, for a very long time. They wanna destroy all of our sovereignty and bring about global government. We're not having it. We can still do business together, the countries can still be at peace, but we're not gonna merge into some globalist, communist system. It will not happen. There will be a lot of blood shed, if it comes down to that — trust me. The American people will not go for that bullshit — once they understand what's actually happening. So, that's where we're at. Nobody wants this, but they're pushing us to a point where we have no choice." |
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Jan 15, 2021 4:40:58 GMT
QUEENSRŸCHE frontman Todd La Torre says that he was "shocked" but "not really surprised" by last week's revelation that ICED EARTH leader Jon Schaffer is among dozens of people wanted by the FBI for storming Capitol Hill.
On Friday, the FBI's Washington Field Office released 40 photos of people who are suspected of unlawful entry during a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol carried out on January 6 during the final Congressional vote recording for the 2020 general election. Among them was a picture of Schaffer taken by Roberto Schmidt of AFP. In the photo, Schaffer can be seen at the front of a mob, sporting a hat from Oath Keepers, an anti-government militia group, and pointing his finger while yelling at someone out of the frame.
"Somebody showed me a photograph, and they didn't say anything — they just showed me the picture," Todd said during an interview with the "Talking With Mark Strigl" podcast (hear audio below). "And I text back, 'Jon Schaffer?' And then I said, 'That's Jon. I know it is.' But I didn't have confirmation, but I was, like, 'I know it's him.' And then it was revealed, yes, that's him. And I was, like, 'Holy shit.'
"I know some of his viewpoints on things," La Torre continued. "On the one hand, it's shocking, 'cause you're, like, 'Holy shit. I'm friends with this guy.' And then on the other hand, you're, like, 'I'm not really surprised.' Because if you know how he thinks about the government and different things, you're, like, okay, it's not far-fetched that he would be there. At the same time, you're thinking, wow, this has never happened in my lifetime, or any of our lifetimes, where we've seen people storm the Capitol and literally assault… These are the same people that are saying 'Back The Blue' and 'We Support Our Police.' And then I'm watching people fighting and trying to beat up police officers, 'cause they think the election is rigged. That's not where I stand. I was, like, 'Holy crap!' And, of course, all the circles of people that we know each other, we're all, like, 'Holy shit. That's Jon.' Then it was [revealed that he was] wanted by the FBI. And I was, like, 'Holy crap!'
"I have no idea if he's turned himself in, if he's on the run, if they got him — I have no idea, 'cause I haven't communicated with him at all," Todd clarified. "But the band is taking a severe — there's a lot of backlash [against ICED EARTH].
"Jon's a man of his convictions," La Torre added. "I don't wanna comment one way or the other, other than the fact that, yeah, I know him, and the times that we've been around each other, he's always been respectful to me, but, of course, that's in a music situation. I think we have polarizing views on how we see things."
On Friday, German daily newspaper Die Welt uploaded a video interview it conducted with Schaffer last November at a Washington, D.C. demonstration supporting Trump and protesting the 2020 presidential election results. In the chat, the 52-year-old musician said that "a group of thugs and criminals hijacked this country a long time ago" and warned that "they're messing with the wrong people here. Because now we see you, and you're going down. Mark my words."
Schaffer also seemingly threw his support behind Trump, saying "he's not your typical Republican" and claiming that America's 45th president is "dealing with a criminal mafia that has been in the shadows running the world, frankly, for a very long time. They wanna destroy all of our sovereignty and bring about global government," he added. "We're not having it… It will not happen. There will be a lot of blood shed, if it comes down to that — trust me. The American people will not go for that bullshit — once they understand what's actually happening. So, that's where we're at. Nobody wants this, but they're pushing us to a point where we have no choice."
Back in 2009, Schaffer raised eyebrows when he launched his SONS OF LIBERTY project via an appearance on a radio show hosted by far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.
More recently, Schaffer voiced his controversial views on the coronavirus crisis during an interview with MetalSucks's "The Quarantinecast", claiming that COVID-19 is "a psychological warfare campaign on the people more than it is a serious pandemic." Implying that a shadowy cabal of elites is using a global crisis as a cover to profiteer and entrench their power, Schaffer said: "I think there's a lot more going on than meets the eye here — in fact, I know there is. Legitimate doctors and scientists are being censored and banned on YouTube constantly. It's unbelievable levels of fraud."
In a September 2020 Facebook Live chat, Schaffer said that he didn't trust his government. "I don't give a shit if it's an 'R' or a 'D' next to the name of the person," he explained. "You can't put your hope into one president or one person, or a mayor or a governor or whatever. You've gotta be out there and actively put pressure on these people, let 'em know you're paying attention. If you're not paying attention, they're gonna rob you and steal everything. Your freedom too. Not just your money. They're gonna steal your fucking freedom. 'Cause they're a bunch of sick control freaks."
|
|
