Ex-Oath Keepers, including heavy metal guitarist, avoid prison after cooperating in Jan. 6 cases

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two former members of the far-right Oath Keepers extremist group, including a heavy metal band guitarist, avoided prison time Friday for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot after pleading guilty to federal charges and cooperating with investigators.

Jon Ryan Schaffer, who founded the band Iced Earth, was the first Jan. 6 defendant to plead guilty in 2021. In agreeing to a sentence of three years of probation, U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta credited Schaffer for his decision to quickly accept responsibility.

In a separate case Friday, another former Oath Keeper was also sentenced to probation after the judge and prosecutor praised him for his extensive cooperation with investigators, including his testimony at two trials. The judge told Caleb Berry, 23, that the American people owe him a "debt of gratitude” for taking the witness stand to testify against his fellow militia group members about their actions surrounding Jan. 6.

“Agreeing to cooperate and telling the world took guts, took courage, not without some risk to you,” Mehta told Berry, who pleaded guilty in 2021 to conspiracy and obstruction charges.