Guilty on all counts. The defendant, 49-year-old Guy Wesley Reffitt of Texas, was found guilty of these five criminal charges: transporting a firearm in ...
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The first Jan. 6 defendant to take his case to trial was found guilty Tuesday of all charges related to his role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Over and over again — both before and after Jan. 6 — Reffitt recorded himself in various forums talking about what he planned to do and what he did. Jurors began deliberating Tuesday morning after a weeklong trial in which they heard testimony from Reffitt's teenage son, Jackson Reffitt, who tipped off the FBI about his father before the Jan. 6 attack. Do not take a plea, 1/6ers. Do not. Prosecutors, quoting the elder Reffitt's own words, argued that the defendant had "lit the match" on the west side of the Capitol, where some of the most brutal attacks on law enforcement took place. The jury met for barely two hours before it informed the judge that it had reached a verdict. U. S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich set Reffitt's sentencing for June 8 at 10 a.m.
A federal jury deliberated for just three hours before it found Jan. 6 insurrectionist Guy Reffitt guilty on all five charges brought against him by the ...
And he did make kind of a last-ditch plea to the jury to just convict Reffitt of one count of these charges - a trespassing related count - but that didn't work. CHANG: Well, Carrie, we know one of the reasons we've been watching this case is because it is the first one to go to trial from January 6 out of - what? Reffitt's 19-year-old son turned him in to the FBI and actually recorded him after January 6 making incriminating statements about having a gun that day in Washington. The government says Reffitt was, quote, "ecstatic about his actions." They had text messages and a Zoom recording with members of a militia group from Texas and helmet footage that he took at the Capitol on January 6. Guilty - that is the verdict in the first trial stemming from the assault on the U. S. Capitol on January 6. Was there anything in the government's argument that stood out to you?
The week-long trial in D.C. federal court hinged on whether Reffitt, who never entered the Capitol building, paved the way for those behind him to do so.
“Jackson is a part of our family, and I know that he is hurting along with us.”On Twitter, Jackson Reffitt said it was “impossible to be happy” about the verdict but that it was “no surprise,” as prosecutors “proved everything.”U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich, a Trump appointee, upheld the sufficiency of the evidence for the jurors’ verdict and set sentencing for June 8.Welch said Reffitt would appeal the government’s use of the obstruction charge. … They are making a point out of Guy and that is to intimidate the other members of the One-Sixers, and we will all fight together.”Nicole Reffitt said it was “disgusting” to call her teenage son as a witness against his father.“Today is a hard day for my kids, Jackson included,” she said. He noted that another federal judge in Washington dismissed the count against a Jan. 6 defendant for the first time late Monday, ruling that prosecutors are reading the law too broadly, although seven other judges have upheld the charge.FBI Washington Field Office head Steven M. D’Antuono said in a statement that rather than take responsibility for his actions, Reffitt “opted to put his family through a painful trial.”The verdict “should serve as a reminder for others who committed crimes at the Capitol that day that these are serious charges and that the FBI and our law enforcement partners will do what it takes to hold them accountable.”First Jan. 6 trial tests claims of juror bias in nation’s capital The most important news stories of the day, curated by Post editors and delivered every morning.By signing up you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Reffitt “thought he had gotten away with it, and he was ready for more.”Reffitt showed little visible reaction as the verdict was read; his wife and mother watched with tears in their eyes.Outside court, his wife condemned the prosecution, promised an appeal and urged other Jan. 6 defendants not to plead guilty.“This fight has just begun,” Nicole Reffitt told reporters. … I just kept going, ‘Go forward, go forward!’ … ‘Take the House.' ”Reffitt said he finally fell back when rioters broke through the Senate wing doors.“My job was done then,” he said on the call.Rocky Hardie, 64, an earphone maker from Austin, said he was the only Texas Three Percenter who accompanied Reffitt to the Capitol. He testified that they both brought firearms and ammunition to the Capitol and to D.C., and were ready to use them in self-defense, agreeing that “it’s better to be tried by a jury of 12 than carried by six” pallbearers. He has since moved out of his family’s home.Welch told jurors that Jackson was “hyping” a family dispute to raise money for himself and because he opposed his father’s politics.But Berkower countered that “Jackson’s instinct was right.” She recalled evidence showing that after Jan. 6, Reffitt urged Texas Three Percenters to prepare for future violence and join his new security business as a way to keep firearms in case of a federal crackdown. Hardie also testified that Reffitt gave him zip ties and told him they were “in case we need to detain anybody.”Reffitt told the Zoom call that in addition to his .40-caliber pistol and Hardie’s .45-caliber handgun, a couple he met at the Capitol were carrying five firearms, and a woman who stopped to help him after he was bear-sprayed was armed with a .22-caliber weapon — eight firearms among five people.On Christmas Eve, Reffitt’s son Jackson had submitted an online tip to the FBI warning that his father was planning to do “some serious damage.” Their political division, he testified, had become a personal chasm as his father began voicing support for violence against government officials.The Roger Stone Tapes: New video shows the Trump adviser working behind the scenes to overturn the 2020 electionNo one responded to the tip until after the riot, by which point Reffitt had warned his son and 16-year-old daughter that “if you turn me in, you’re a traitor, and traitors get shot,” his son testified.Jackson Reffitt, 19, told riveted jurors that he was “terrified” by that comment but nevertheless met that afternoon with an FBI agent, turning over images and recordings of his father. (The Washington Post)He suggested that Reffitt’s own videos showing self-incriminating statements could have been digitally doctored or “deep-faked.” Testimony against him was self-serving or politically motivated, Welch said, and Reffitt’s other statements were similar to “outrageous” political speech by Trump and his attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani that morning.Reffitt’s case marked the first time police officers who defended the Capitol 14 months ago testified publicly against one of the rioters.Capitol Police Inspector Monique Moore, who helmed the force’s command center that day, broke down as she recalled hearing officers “screaming for help.”Shauni Kerkhoff and two other officers described the “dire situation” they faced: a sea of “angry, loud and violent” people led by Reffitt, filling in behind him despite being hit with pepper balls and clay bullets.In a recorded conversation, Reffitt later described Kerkhoff as a “cute … chick” who “need[ed] a bigger gun.”Reffitt was ultimately incapacitated by chemicals sprayed by U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Matthew Flood. The crowd booed, and Reffitt continued to wave them forward as he tried to clean his eyes, Flood testified.It was “about to turn into a hand-to-hand battle …” Flood said. But jurors agreed with prosecutors that in confronting officers at a key choke point outside the building, Reffitt helped the mob behind him to overrun them, break in by force and halt the confirmation of President Biden’s election victory.They also concluded that Reffitt — convicted of charges punishable by up to 20 years in prison — brought a handgun with him for use in the riot, and threatened two of his children not to expose him.Reffitt, 49, traveled to D.C. from his home in Wylie, Tex., with an AR-15-style rifle and semiautomatic handgun, and went to the Capitol in what he called “full battle rattle,” including a handgun, a helmet, body armor, radio and flex cuffs.“On January 6th, 2021, Guy Reffitt challenged the police at the head of a vigilante mob determined to break into the United States Capitol. He did this because he wanted to take out Congress, and an angry, energized crowd gave him his best shot,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Risa Berkower told a jury of six men and six women in closing arguments Monday.Reffitt “lighted that crowd into an unstoppable force” that pushed through officers making a “last stand” defending the Senate wing doors, the prosecutor said. Never hit anyone with anything,” Welch argued to jurors Monday. He did not help assault any officer or impede any arrest, the defense attorney said.Instead, Welch said that Reffitt was guilty only of trespassing on Capitol grounds — a misdemeanor punishable by no more than one year in prison.Police radio communications synchronized with hours of footage show how failures of planning and preparation left police at the Capitol severely disadvantaged. … This gun right here was loaded.”Defense attorney William L. Welch emphasized that despite his rough words, Reffitt did not enter the Capitol, commit any violence or damage any property.Although Reffitt repeatedly asserted that he was armed during the riot, Welch said an FBI case agent testified that he could see from video only that the defendant was carrying a “silver, metallic linear object” in a hip holster. Guy Reffitt guilty on all counts in first Capitol riot trialGuy Reffitt, left, with his lawyer William L. Welch in federal court in Washington. (Dana Verkourteren/AP)The first trial in the Jan. 6 Capitol breach ended with a guilty verdict on all counts, a victory for federal prosecutors handling one of the largest investigations in U. S. history.After three days of testimony and two hours of deliberation, jurors found Guy Reffitt guilty of five felonies — obstruction of an official proceeding, interfering with police in a riot, transporting a firearm for that purpose, armed trespassing and witness tampering.Reffitt, a petroleum industry rig manager and recruiter for the extremist Texas Three Percenters movement, was not seen entering the Capitol building or physically assaulting police.
A Texas man who is the first to stand trial in the prosecution of those who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 was found guilty on all charges Tuesday.
In the first federal trial related to the Capitol riot, a jury found Guy Reffitt guilty of all five charges. During his closing remarks, Welch conceded that his client had been in a restricted area and told the jury they should find him guilty of such an offense. In the first federal trial related to the Capitol riot, a jury found Guy Reffitt guilty of all five charges. And I really lost all respect for him in that moment." "If you're going to be convicted on your first Amendment rights, all Americans should be wary. As evidence, the government provided an image of Reffitt's exposed waistband where a pistol holster and silver object is visible. "I think we have the numbers to make it happen ... without firing a single shot." Video played by prosecutors during the trial showed Reffitt climbing a stone banister near where scaffolding had been put up in advance of President Joe Biden's inauguration, and him confronting U. S. Capitol Police officers who warned him to back down before they fired less-than-lethal ammunition and pepper spray to stop his advance. "Do not take a plea," said Nicole Reffitt, who indicted that her husband would appeal his verdict. More than 200 people have already pleaded guilty to a variety of misdemeanors and felony charges, with some being sentenced to years in federal prison. He described a "long line of people" behind Reffitt as he approached the west side entrance. "Everybody is in the same harmony on that ... dragging 'em out kicking and f***ing screaming."
The first person to face trial over the 6 January storming of the US Capitol is found guilty on all counts.
A jury in Washington, DC, on Tuesday found January 6 rioter Guy Reffitt guilty of all five charges he faced related to the US Capitol attack, in the pivotal ...
Guy Reffitt was convicted in a landmark, emotionally wrenching case brought by the Justice Department over the Capitol riot.
Reffitt’s case was unusual in that the basic who, what, and when questions the jury needed to decide — Was that Reffitt in the blue jacket in the videos from the Capitol? Did he bring a gun to the siege? In the end, Jackson was the one who made the sacrifice for his country in a truly stunning act of patriotism for which he may never be able to fully forgive himself. Even after the trial, it wasn’t entirely clear what his plan had been — what it was he intended to do, what exactly he hoped to achieve, and what role Trump’s incendiary rhetoric and the constellation of political, media, and paramilitary sympathizers had played in Reffitt’s actions, which he does not seem to regret. This was the case even if, from the outside, it is easy to see that these violent right-wing forces had been nurtured for years by the narcissism and unscrupulousness of Trump and his more sophisticated supporters. His father has been in custody since the arrest, and the family did not know Jackson had turned in his father until he gave an interview to CNN’s Chris Cuomo several days later, in which Jackson, still clearly grappling with the reality of what he had done, described what had led him to that decision while repeatedly saying he still loved his father. Jackson and the rest of the family learned Reffitt had gone to the Capitol on January 6 on the day itself, when they spotted him in the crowd on television. Jackson testified that a GoFundMe account he had set up after the CNN interview to fund his education at community college had generated about $158,000. Jackson testified about how, in late 2020, he had become increasingly concerned about his father’s claims of corruption in the federal government and his vague, self-described “constitutionalist” rhetoric about a popular uprising — views Jackson vaguely ascribed to his father spending more time on the internet than usual. The centerpiece was the dramatic testimony of Reffitt’s 19-year-old son, Jackson, who had turned in his father to the authorities and ultimately doomed him by the time he concluded several hours of testimony on the witness stand, where he provided a captivating depiction of an extraordinary filial chasm that seemed to stand in for the broader national division that led to the events of January 6. There was no evidence Reffitt had ever abused anyone in the family or that Jackson was seriously worried about his or his sister’s physical safety. At different points, she questioned the accuracy of the time stamps on the surveillance video (which were immaterial to the case); chastised the government for asking repetitive questions, even though, as far as I saw, they were not particularly repetitive; and complained about the government’s suggesting to her in the middle of a witness’s testimony that it might be a good time to take a break — an utterly routine feature of trial practice. Jackson took the stand in a shirt and jacket with no tie, his wavy brown hair, which he had apparently straightened for the proceeding, hanging down to his shoulders.