WASHINGTON — A federal judge has granted a request to postpone sentencing for a former Columbus resident who has pleaded guilty to storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, after prosecutors asked for the delay following the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the scope of an obstruction charge.
U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta on Tuesday postponed former heavy metal musician and Columbus resident Jon Schaffer’s Aug. 2 sentencing hearing to Sept. 13, according to court filings in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. The decision came just days after U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves asked the judge to delay’s Schaffer’s hearing for 30 to 60 days in light of the Supreme Court decision.
“The United States seeks a brief continuance to assess the impact of the (Supreme Court) decision,” Graves stated in his request last week. “Such a continuance would not prejudice the defendant or the Court; to the contrary, it would help to ensure a uniform and consistent approach before each judge of the District and Circuit. The United States has consulted with the defense, and they do not oppose this continuance request.”
The justices ruled 6-3 last month that the charge of obstructing an official proceeding, enacted in 2002 in response to the financial scandal that brought down Enron Corp., must include proof that defendants tried to tamper with or destroy documents, The Associated Press reported.
The obstruction charge was one of two charges that Schaffer pleaded guilty to. He also pleaded guilty to one count of entering and remaining in a restricted building or ground with a deadly or dangerous weapon.
Currently, it is unclear if or how the high court’s ruling will impact the prosecution of Schaffer. Court filings do not make any mention of Schaffer trying to tamper with or destroy documents during the Jan. 6 attack.
Schaffer, who is a former member of the heavy metal band Iced Earth, was photographed inside the Capitol wearing a tactical vest and hat that said, “Oath Keepers Lifetime Member,” with bear spray in his hand, according to court filings.
As part of his guilty plea, Schaffer acknowledged that he is “a founding, lifetime member of the Oath Keepers” and believes that “the federal government has been ‘co-opted’ by a cabal of elites actively trying to strip American citizens of their rights.”
The Oath Keepers is a militia group that recruits current and former military, police and first responders.
The case that the Supreme Court heard involves Joseph Fischer, a former Pennsylvania police officer, who is facing a seven-count indictment for his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, including the obstruction charge, and two other defendants, according to wire reports. The Supreme Court returned the case of former Pennsylvania police officer Joseph Fischer to a lower court to determine if Fischer can be charged with obstruction.
Schaffer’s attorneys, for their part, have argued that the Supreme Court’s decision in the Fischer case “directly relates to and impacts the validity” of Schaffer’s plea and conviction and could factor into what his ultimate sentence would be.
“If Mr. Schaffer is sentenced to a term of incarceration (for the obstruction charge) … and begins serving his sentence, he will be irreparably harmed as he would lose his gainful employment, uproot his life and serve time for a felony that may be invalidated by the Fischer outcome,” one of Schaffer’s attorneys said in court filings.
Federal authorities have argued in court filings that “even if the Supreme Court were to decide Fischer adversely to the government, it is not clear that the court’s interpretation of (the obstruction charge) would necessarily invalidate Schaffer’s conviction in this case,” federal prosecutors said in court filings.
“And even if it did, the appropriate venue for challenging such a sentence would be a post-sentencing appeal, and not a motion to set aside the verdict,” according to court filings. “…Moreover, obstruction of Congress was not Defendant Schaffer’s only conviction. He will also be sentenced for unlawfully entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon.”
