In a revealing and exhaustive new interview, Iced Earth founder and guitarist Jon Schaffer opened up about the emotional and psychological fallout following his high-profile involvement in the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Appearing for a sprawling three-hour conversation on the latest episode of the “Iblis Manifestations” podcast, the musician discussed his arrest, the brutal realities of his early incarceration, and how a newfound, deep-seated relationship with Jesus Christ fundamentally altered his perspective on life.
In October 2024, Jon Schaffer was sentenced to three years of probation and 120 hours of community service for his role in the Capitol breach, alongside a $1,000 restitution payment and a $200 financial assessment. He was initially charged with six crimes, including engaging in physical violence and targeting police with bear spray, but ultimately pleaded guilty to two charges: obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress, and trespassing on restricted grounds while armed with a deadly or dangerous weapon. As part of a plea agreement, he cooperated with federal investigators. He was later among the approximately 1,500 individuals pardoned by U.S. President Donald Trump for crimes related to the riot.
When asked if the whole event and its aftermath taught him anything new about human nature, Schaffer admitted the experience was more of an internal crucible.
“Well, I think the biggest thing, learning part, for me wasn’t really anything new regarding human nature. And that’s probably because I’ve been blessed to be able to travel around the world for decades and have just been able to meet amazing people from everywhere. But it was a growth process for me. It definitely was a crucible, there’s no doubt about that. And I feel like it could have gone any way,” he explained (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
He went on to criticize the media narrative surrounding the event, noting the devastating impact it had on others involved. “A lot of people that went through J6 have just been destroyed, and there were several su*cides. And even some guys that were facing misdemeanors, but they were so destroyed because of the amount of demonization that was going on in the media… I mean, they were coming out and saying it was worse than 9/11, worse than Pearl Harbor. It’s, like, come on, man. Really, this is insane. This kind of rhetoric is just… Every time they do stuff like that, they minimize the actual tragedy of those events.”
“I don’t think I really learned anything new about human nature, just my own, that it was huge growth process,” Schaffer continued. “I was still pretty pissed off when I was locked up. But it started to calm. And, of course, there was a serious level of PTSD afterwards, and I think I’m still dealing with some of that, but not in a way… I don’t know, man. I really have to say the biggest thing for me that made me calm through the whole thing was my relationship with [Jesus] Christ. And I think that if I would’ve never had that as a kid that I may not have gone there.”
The guitarist then detailed the harrowing conditions he faced during his initial incarceration. Before being transferred to the District of Columbia in March 2021, he spent nearly two months housed in Indiana’s Marion County Jail.
“I was in four different facilities for three months. It was brutal in the county jails versus the federal prison that I was in. You got your guaranteed hour of rec. You could turn off your light in your cell. But it was torturous, because in some of those places… The longest place I was at was the old Marion County Jail, which was condemned. They didn’t care about it, ’cause they were building a whole new system. So the jail was absolutely disgusting. It was freezing cold, bright lights 24-7. And I was next to suicide block for about five weeks, I guess. I mean, you sort of lose track of time in there. You don’t know what time it is, ’cause you don’t see any sunlight at all.”
He described the environment as being akin to the fictional Arkham Asylum, citing severe sleep deprivation and the constant screams of mentally ill inmates. It was during this dark period that a passing guard slipped him a piece of literature about the biblical story of Daniel in the lions’ den, prompting him to request a Bible.
“But once I started reading the Bible, ’cause it was really the only book I had in that early part of the process, I really was focusing on Jesus’s words — not the rest of it so much, but just on Jesus’s words. And it started to really resonate with me, but I hadn’t really committed. That wasn’t until probably a year after I got out. And then once I did, it was like there was this inner change that took place. It wasn’t immediate — it was slow — but it started to happen. And at one point there was this overwhelming peace that came over me that — I can’t explain it. I mean, it was supernatural. And as my relationship grows in that way, it’s just more peace, man — more resolve, but more peace. And not anger out of the situation, or at the situation.'”
Reflecting on his legal battles, the musician acknowledged his feelings of injustice but maintained that his faith has helped him let go of his rage.
“Yes, it was unjust [what happened to me], but there’s been many injustices against individuals through the history of the world, like billions of them. So I’m not gonna sit back and cry myself a river over that. It doesn’t make any sense. There’s horribly unjust things going on right now all over the world to many different people, and I don’t like that. But I also know it’s outta my control.”
Schaffer noted that his newfound faith has made him significantly more forgiving, both of others and of himself. He shared a poignant story about taking advice from conservative talk show host Jesse Lee Peterson, which led him to actively forgive his parents for past grievances.
“And I went out to my dad’s gravesite, and I forgave him and I apologized for judging. But I loved my dad. My dad was the best man at my wedding. But there were some issues with my mom, even though my mom and I were close. But I called her. Fortunately, I did this before she passed away — a good while before she passed away — and I just said, ‘Mom, I just wanna apologize for judging you, and I forgive you for any of the mistakes.’ And it was not just words. I meant it from my heart, because finally that conviction was on my heart. It was one thing hearing Jesse Lee Peterson talk about it, but then it was almost like that inner voice was telling me, ‘No, that’s where it’s at.’ And when I did that, that was when peace came over me. That’s part of the process. That’s the first step with my journey with Christ in my heart. And it led to that and that voice.”
Ultimately, the guitarist believes the entire ordeal forced him to completely recalibrate his mind, stripping away his impulsive anger and replacing it with a profound sense of inner calm.
“I’ve been following my instincts — well, our instincts do deceive us, actually, often, but whatever the conviction on my heart was, I was following it and listening. And when I’ve done that, it’s been a big progression, in terms of getting towards kind of a perfect peace. I’m not there, but I’m pretty close, because I don’t allow things to rattle me, because I understand this… And my friend Marc helped me understand that too by recommending a book called ‘The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People‘. And in there there’s that response — that’s your power; that’s your freedom. How do you respond to the things the world throws at you? Because when you’re impulsive — you get into a road rage incident because of some stupid thing like the way somebody’s driving. If you allow that to interrupt your peace, that could land you in prison for a really long time. So, I think it takes going through something this heavy to help you recalibrate your mind and reprioritize your thought process to be able to just take things. I don’t get mad in traffic anymore. If somebody cuts me off, it’s, like, ‘Okay, whatever. Why am I gonna give this situation the power to interrupt my peace? I’m not going to.’ And it takes a lot to do that now. Like I said, the only thing I can think of that I start to feel my blood start to boil is anytime I hear about these horrible things that have happened with the children and regarding powerful people. I mean, one thing that would happen to help many people around the western world, maybe everywhere, is powerful people need to be held accountable for their crimes. And we don’t have that. That’s a serious problem. And I think that if there is any desire whatsoever from the people in government to have the temperature get lowered and for people to start believing in the system again is to believe that there is a system of justice that’s blind. And it doesn’t matter how wealthy you are, who you’re connected to, if you commit the crime, there’s gonna be justice. And that’s the kind of thing that I wish that would actually happen, that there would be some accountability so that people would start to feel, like, ‘Okay, it’s not all rigged against us, the average people.'”
