As per The Republic, a federal judge has agreed to postpone Jon Schaffer‘s sentencing hearing until April 5 due to medical reasons. This decision comes as the ICED EARTH guitarist is set to undergo an undisclosed medical procedure that requires subsequent recovery.
However, U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta has dismissed the request from Schaffer’s attorney to postpone the sentencing hearing, initially set for February 20, pending the outcome of the case Joseph W. Fischer v. United States. This case revolves around whether prosecutors and the Department of Justice have been misusing a 2002 law, originally designed to combat financial crimes, in the prosecution of a January 6 defendant named Joseph Fischer. A ruling in favor of Fischer could raise doubts about the application of this law to other January 6 defendants, including Schaffer.
In the order issued, Mehta stated: “The sentencing hearing currently scheduled for Feb. 20, 2024, is hereby canceled due to the health concerns outlined in the defendant’s motion. The court will not postpone sentencing until the resolution of United States v. Fischer. Alternative procedural avenues are available for the defendant to seek postponement of any potential term of incarceration, should one be imposed. Furthermore, the public interest favors not delaying sentencing until the outcome of Fischer”.
