ICED EARTH guitarist Jon Schaffer says that he went through “two months of hell” after he was incarcerated for his involvement in the Capitol riots that went down back on January 6th of this year.
Earlier today (Friday, July 23), The Indianapolis Star published an account based on Marion County Jail incident reports which reveal that Schaffer was kept in “Administrative Segregation” after he was arrested due to his high-profile status.
According to a spokesperson for the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Schaffer was never taken out of administrative segregation, however his lawyer claims that he was targeted with death threats and assaulted with human fecal matter while he was imprisoned.
“My client, who is presumed innocent, has just gone through two months of hell where other people were throwing feces at him and urine at him and threatening his life in a horrible, horrible situation,” Schaffer’s attorney Marc J. Victor told a federal judge in March during Schaffer’s detention hearing in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. “Shame on us, Judge, that this is happening in our justice system,” Victor added.
Schaffer was removed from his cell block on March 7 after he said he “was in fear for his personal safety,” according to a deputy with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. Schaffer informed the deputy about problems he was having with a specific inmate. The next day, Schaffer complained that three inmates, including the one mentioned in the March 7 report, were making death threats against him.
In April, Schaffer pleaded guilty to his role in the Capitol riot. As part of the plea deal, Schaffer agreed to cooperate with investigators and potentially testify in related criminal cases, according to CNN. As part of the agreement, the Justice Department has offered to sponsor Schaffer for the witness protection program.