Video: Iced Earth’s Jon Schaffer Tells Reporter “If Somebody Wants to Bring Violence,” Trump Supporters “Are Ready for It”
Die Welt, the German newspaper that interviewed Iced Earth mastermind Jon Schaffer at a pro-Trump rally in November, has now shared video of that interview.
The video foreshadows Schaffer’s involvement in the pro-Trump mob that stormed the Capitol on Wednesday (January 6) in an attempt to disrupt the counting of electoral votes that would officially make Joe Biden the President-elect of the United States.
The siege reportedly left five people dead, including one police officer.
A photograph of the 52-year-old guitarist and songwriter participating in the riot started making the rounds just hours after it was taken, showing up on both NBC News and The Daily Beast.
Subsequently, Washington, D.C. police, working alongside federal investigators, released images of 38 of the rioters — including Schaffer — who are wanted for “unrest-related offenses.” Authorities are offering “a reward of up to $1,000 to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and indictment of the person or persons responsible for a crime committed in the District of Columbia.”
The Die Welt video show Schaffer wearing a hoodie in which Donald Trump’s head has been Photoshopped atop the head of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character on the poster for movie Terminator 2 (somewhat ironic, given Schwarzenegger and Trump’s open hatred for each other). The Trumpinator sits in front of the Capitol brandishing a shotgun; the slogan beneath him reads “Drain the Swamp.”
Schaffer begins the interview by identifying himself and the pro-Trump contingent’s cause:
“My name is Jon Schaffer. I’m from Indiana. A group of thugs and criminals hijacked this country a long time ago. Now they’re making their big move, and it’s not gonna happen. And that’s what it is. These are globalists. These are the scum of the earth. These are the criminals that are behind all the fraudulent fee on currency, they’re behind all the wars, they’re behind all the shit, they’re behind divide-and-conquer tactics, behind the racial divide. It’s all nonsense, it’s all garbage. People need to wake up and snap out of the matrix, because they’re going down. They’ve made the move. They’re messing with the wrong people here — trust me on that. And we needed it to be open like this — open fraud, open theft. Because now we see you, and you’re going down. Mark my words.”
Asked about the possibility of violence, Schaffer responded:
“If somebody wants to bring violence, I think there’s a lot of us here that are ready for it. We don’t want that, but if they bring it, we’re gonna respond to that — trust me.”
Schaffer went on to promise “bloodshed” if the “criminal mafia that been in the shadows running the world” does not step aside:
“I think this goes beyond President Trump. President Trump is a populist. He’s not your typical Republican. He’s not establishment. He’s not going out starting wars all over the place, like they do. Which is funny — where are all the Democrats that were anti-war? There’s so much hatred for Trump, it’s just ridiculous. He’s dealing with a criminal mafia that has been in the shadows running the world, frankly, for a very long time. They wanna destroy all of our sovereignty and bring about global government. We’re not having it. We can still do business together, the countries can still be at peace, but we’re not gonna merge into some globalist, communist system. It will not happen. There will be a lot of bloodshed, if it comes down to that — trust me. The American people will not go for that bullshit — once they understand what’s actually happening. So, that’s where we’re at. Nobody wants this, but they’re pushing us to a point where we have no choice.”
You can view the entire video here.
Frequently seen sporting a confederate flag bandana, Schaffer has repeatedly expressed a distrust of the government (with a special emphasis on the federal reserve), claimed that Trump lost the popular vote in 2016 because of illegal immigrants, and said that teachers should be armed.
Meanwhile, in July, Schaffer told MetalSucks’ that he did not believe the coronavirus pandemic to be a real threat, referring to it as the “plandemic,” claiming that coronavirus case counts have been artificially inflated, and suggesting that the current economic shutdown was orchestrated by a small group of global elites with profits in mind.
Yesterday, Iced Earth singer Stu Block (ex-Into Eternity), who is Canadian, responded to fan on social media who said he could “no longer support the band you are in” by saying “t[h]is is your decision and how you feel and I must absolutely respect that.” He also shared a drawing of a heart and the hashtag #love, but for some reason said nothing about thoughts and prayers.
MetalSucks reached out to Iced Earth guitarist Jake Dreyer (also of Witherfall) for comment on Schaffer’s recent actions, but he declined to comment, citing legal advice.
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