Ex-Oath Keepers, including heavy metal guitarist, avoid prison after cooperating in Jan. 6 cases

WASHINGTON — (AP) — Two former members of the far-right Oath Keepers extremist group, including a heavy metal band guitarist, avoided prison time Friday for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot after pleading guilty to federal charges and cooperating with investigators.

Jon Ryan Schaffer, who founded the band Iced Earth, was the first Jan. 6 defendant to plead guilty in 2021. In agreeing to a sentence of three years of probation, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta credited Schaffer for his decision to quickly accept responsibility.

In a separate case Friday, another former Oath Keeper was also sentenced to probation after the judge and prosecutor praised him for his extensive cooperation with investigators, including his testimony at two trials. The judge told Caleb Berry, 23, that the American people owe him a "debt of gratitude” for taking the witness stand to testify against his fellow militia group members about their actions surrounding Jan. 6.

“Agreeing to cooperate and telling the world took guts, took courage, not without some risk to you,” Mehta told Berry, who pleaded guilty in 2021 to conspiracy and obstruction charges.

Standing before the judge with his hands behind his back, Berry said he was grateful to prosecutors for charging him because it opened his eyes to the “path of radicalization" he was headed down. Berry apologized to his family and the “entire country” for decisions he said he will regret for the rest of his life.

“I acted in a way that was foolish ... I let my emotions get the best of me,” he said.

Berry provided what prosecutors described as "pivotal" testimony against Oath Keepers members convicted of seditious conspiracy for plotting to forcibly keep then-President Donald Trump in power. Berry told jurors that he believed Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes wanted his followers to be prepared to "fight against the federal government."

"We needed to act or we would die," Berry told jurors in one trial about his understanding of Rhodes' words, according to court papers. Rhodes was sentenced last year to 18 years in prison.

Schaffer pleaded guilty in a deal with prosecutors in April 2021 to two counts: obstruction of an official proceeding, and entering and remaining in a restricted building with a dangerous or deadly weapon. He wasn’t accused of participating in any pre-planning or coordination with other Oath Keepers members.

Before the judge handed down his sentence, Schaffer apologized to his fans and said he deeply regrets the “pain and embarrassment” his actions have caused.

“You have my word: I will not let you down,” Schaffer told the judge.

Schaffer came to Washington in November 2020 for the “Million MAGA March" to protest the results of the election. He told a journalist there that a “group of thugs and criminals hijacked this country," adding: “We see you, and you’re going down, mark my words,” according to court papers.

On Jan. 6, Schaffer was wearing a hat that read “Oath Keepers Lifetime Member,” and a tactical vest and was carrying a can of bear spray. He was one of the first people to breach the Capitol through the doors on the northwest side of the building, prosecutors say.

He was inside for about 10 minutes, didn't participate in any violence and destruction and already spent about three months in jail after his arrest, his attorney, Marc Victor said. Schaffer believed the 2020 election was fraudulent and that the country was “on the verge of a takeover" when he stormed the Capitol, Victor told the judge.

“He was wrong but that's what he believed,” Victor said. “He was misled by people in the executive branch.”

More than 1,500 people have been charged with Capitol riot-related federal crimes. Approximately 1,200 of them have pleaded guilty or been convicted after trials decided by judges and juries. And over 1,000 of the defendants have been sentenced, with roughly two-thirds receiving a term of imprisonment ranging from a few days to 22 years.

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