It appears Iced Earth frontman Jon Schaffer is nowhere to be found at the moment as the Washington, D.C. Attorney General continues to search for the guitarist related to his role in the January 6 Capitol Riots.
According to a new article in The Republic, court process servers have been trying to find Schaffer to hand-deliver documentation notifying him that the District of Columbia is taking action against him related to the Insurrection.
It's said there have been 25 attempts to reach Schaffer at seven different addresses in three states to no avail as he has continually evaded authorities who have been looking for him for months.
In December 2021,Washington D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine filed a lawsuit in federal court suing 31 people, including Schaffer, to recoup millions of dollars that were spent on January 6, 2021 defending the Capitol against the premeditated attack that attempted to overturn the presidential election. You can view the full complaint here.
In April of 2021, Schaffer (a member of extremist group The Oath Keepers) pleaded guilty to two charges against him for his role in the attack, including obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress and trespassing on restricted grounds of the Capitol while armed with a deadly or dangerous weapon.
The U.S. Department of Justice, through Acting Deputy Attorney General John P. Carlin, released a statement declaring, "On this 100th day since the horrific January 6 assault on the United States Capitol, Oath Keepers member Jon Schaffer has pleaded guilty to multiple felonies, including for breaching the Capitol while wearing a tactical vest and armed with bear spray, with the intent to interfere with Congress’ certification of the Electoral College results."
As Loudwire previously reported, after Schaffer entered a plea deal in April 2021, he was released on bail under several stipulations such as submitting to court supervision in his home base of Indiana, surrendering his passport and travel documents and giving up the right to possess any firearms. He's forbidden to stay away from D.C. except for court hearings. He faces up to 30 years in prison as part of his involvement in the seditious activity, as well as the latest litigation that seeks financial damages.
Process servers have tried to hand-deliver court documents to Schaffer at residences in Columbus, Indiana (where he has multiple homes); Orlando, Florida, where it's said his mother lives; as well as homes in Georgetown, Delaware and multiple spots in Florida, per The Republic. The article further notes that Schaffer "is required to “notify (the) U.S. Pretrial/Probation Office of any travel outside the State of Indiana.”
The Republic also states that it's "unclear if federal law enforcement officials know Schaffer’s whereabouts, if they believe he has violated the terms of his plea agreement or if they plan to provide any information to the District of Columbia in its effort to serve him in the civil lawsuit." An upcoming status report for the criminal case is needed by October 28.
