Back in June 2023, federal prosecutors and an attorney representing Iced Earth guitarist / founder Jon Schaffer - a former Columbus resident, who pleaded guilty to storming the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 - asked a federal judge to set a sentencing date for January or February 2024.

According to a report by Metal Sucks, Schaffer is due to be sentenced on February 20, 2024. He could serve up to three-and-a-half to four-and-a-half years in prison.

Now, according to a report by Politico, the issue has been raised as to whether the Department Of Justice and prosecutors are using a 2002 law originally aimed at curbing financial crimes - launched due to the Enron accounting scandal - to prosecute a January 6 defendant, Joseph Fischer. If it is decided in court that Fischer's case needs to be reviewed, it would call into question the use of the law against other January 6 defendants, Schaffer included.

Schaffer's attorneys are now asking for a delay in sentencing.

Trouble in paradise?

Over 3 years after his arrest, Jon Schaffer is asking for a delay in sentencing, in part to wait out SCOTUS on Fischer. It is not a request to which prosecutors consented.

I wonder if prosecutors told him he wasn't getting a 5K?https://t.co/uE2lW57ozV pic.twitter.com/XoPlt0EAb1

— emptywheel (@emptywheel) January 23, 2024

Schaffer continues to be on release under the supervision of the District of Columbia Pre-Trial Services Department and has remained compliant with pre-trial release conditions.

Sentencing would signal the end of a legal saga that began about a week and a half after a violent mob of pro-Trump rioters stormed the US Capitol and attempted to prevent the certification of the 2020 presidential election.

Schaffer, a member of the Oath Keepers, pleaded guilty in April 2021 to, among other things, breaching the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, armed with bear repellent and obstructing an official proceeding.

The plea agreement states that Schaffer pleaded guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding and entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon.

Obstruction of an official proceeding carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and up to three years of supervised release, according to the plea agreement. Entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail, a $250,000 fine and up to three years of supervised release.

The plea agreement also estimates that Schaffer’s sentencing guidelines would range from 41 to 51 months in jail and an applicable fine of $15,000 to $150,000. The US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia also has said it would be willing to sponsor Schaffer’s admission into the federal witness protection program.

Read more at TheRepublic.com.