Iced Earth’s Jon Schaffer reportedly among pro-Trump demonstrators who stormed the Capitol
One protester was shot and killed while storming the Capitol Building.
Photo: Gary Wolstenholme / Redferns
Jon Schaffer, leader of heavy metal band Iced Earth, is part of a group of pro-Trump protestors who stormed the Capitol Building in Washington, DC today (7 January), reports say.
The 52-year-old guitarist was allegedly photographed as part of a group of demonstrators pushing past police to enter the Capitol Building, where lawmakers were debating recounting electoral college votes. See the photo, captured by news agency AFP, below:
Police attempt to retake Capitol from protesters https://t.co/bku3yGU7y0 pic.twitter.com/ZCWYbDccNp
— CBS News (@CBSNews) January 6, 2021
One protester was shot and killed while storming the Capitol Building.
Schaffer was among the protestors who showed up in the US capital in support of President Trump, who lost both the popular and electoral college vote but continues to dispute the election results. It is unclear exactly how many were involved in the demonstration; various reports have estimated the number to range from the hundreds to the thousands.
This is not the first time Schaffer has been involved in a pro-Trump demonstration. In November 2020, the musician identified himself to German newspaper Die Welt, which pictured Schaffer in the crowd of Trump supporters, protesting the results of the 2020 US election.
Stars from the music world have taken to social media to condemn the recent protest. Many are criticising the mild police response in comparison to the Black Lives Matter protests in June 2020.
“When BLM protestors were marching on the Confederate monuments here in Richmond, they were getting beaten with batons and tear-gassed,” Lamb Of God’s Mark Morton tweeted. “These dudes are literally being allowed to CLIMB the Capitol building lol.”
Dino Cazares of Fear Factory added: “I do not encourage any violence or riots, but because these people are not Black, Hispanic, BLM or Antifa, they are allowed to destroy the capital without any push back from law enforcement. If you don’t see the racism in that, then you are complacent.”
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