WASHINGTON (AP) – A member of the far-right Oath Keepers militia group has become the first defendant to plead guilty to federal charges in connection with the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Jon Ryan Schaffer is also a heavy metal guitarist in the band Iced Earth.
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta said Friday he 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.
This signals that federal prosecutors see him as a valuable cooperator as they continue to investigate the militia groups and other extremists involved in the insurrection on Jan. 6.
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