A heavy metal guitarist who stormed the Capitol as part of the Oath Keepers militia has agreed to flip for prosecutors

• Oath Keepers militia member Jon Schaffer has agreed to flip for prosecutors.
• He was part of a group of Oath Keepers who stormed the Capitol on January 6.
• Schaffer is the first known riot participant to cooperate with prosecutors.

A member of the extremist Oath Keepers militia who stormed the US Capitol on January 6 agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, making him the first known participant in the insurrection to flip.

The militia member, Jon Schaffer, pleaded guilty Friday to minor trespassing charges at the Capitol building. Prosecutors charged him with an information rather than an indictment, a charging instrument normally used for people who agree to cooperate with prosecutors.

Judge Amit Mehta, who's overseeing the case, confirmed Schaffer's cooperation in a court hearing Friday where he pleaded guilty to the charges.

Schaffer, the lead singer and a guitarist of the heavy metal band Iced Earth, stormed the Capitol building, threatened Capitol police officers with bear spray, and espoused conspiracy theories about the presidential election, according to an FBI affidavit included in his case. He wore a baseball cap that read "Oath Keepers Lifetime Member," according to the affidavit.

Federal prosecutors have so far charged more than 400 people over the January 6 riot, where a pro-Trump mob stormed Congress in a failed attempt to stop legislators from certifying the results of the presidential election in favor of now-President Joe Biden.

They've charged several members of the Oath Keepers, who court records show planned out their attack and held training sessions weeks in advance of the insurrection.

The known evidence used in the cases against the militia members - as with most of the Capitol riot cases - drew on surveillance footage, interviews with media, social media posts, and private messages from participants.

Prosecutors said in a filing on April 6, apparently made public erroneously, that Schaffer was negotiating a plea deal.

Mehta is also overseeing the cases for other members of the Oath Keepers. During Friday's hearing, he terminated public access to court proceedings before finalizing the terms of Schaffer's plea agreement.

Expanded Coverage Module: capitol-siege-module