Iced Earth guitarist Jon Schaffer was among those photographed during the riot at the Capitol Building on Jan. 6 and his band mates have now issued statements concerning his involvement expressing that they don’t condone the riots or acts of violence.
Both Luke Appleton and Stu Block posted a group statement on their Instagram accounts (seen below) that reads as follows:
We want to thank those of you who have sent words of support in recent days. Some of you have been concerned by our silence, which we understand. We needed some time to properly process the information and find out some facts before we made a statement.
We absolutely DO NOT condone nor do we support riots or the acts of violence that the rioters were involved in on January 6th at the US Capitol building. We hope that all those involved that day are brought to justice to be investigated and answer for their actions.
With broken hearts we are sending our love and compassion to everyone who has felt pain from the events on January 6th. We are deeply saddened and our hearts go out to the families of the lives lost that day. There are really no proper words to console. Just know we are with you in your shock, grief and pain. Much love to you all.
Stu, Luke, Jake, Brent
Iced Earth fans all over the world have been very vocal about their disappointment with Schaffer. Iced Earth has fans all over the world of many different nationalities, races, and creeds. This was not a protest. This was an act of hate and domestic terrorism. Jon has in a huge way distanced himself from these fans and made a statement of hate that will be remembered for the rest of his life.
A fan commented “I unfortunately can no longer support the band you are in. Much love and respect for you as a person and a great singer but Jon no longer gets a dime from me. I will follow and support you in all future endeavors. I hope Jon realizes that being self centered and ideological does not just affect him but his extended family. God Bless you and your family.”
Schaffer is still being hunted by the FBI. If you have any information that may lead to his capture, please contact the FBI Tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) to verbally report tips.
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