Guy Reffitt

The Three Percenters recruiter, the first Jan. 6 defendant convicted at trial, was found guilty of leading the charge while armed that led to the break-in ...

The first U.S. Capitol riot defendant convicted at trial was sentenced to more than seven years in prison Monday, the longest punishment handed down to date over the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on Congress.

Guy Wesley Reffitt was convicted in March on five counts in a case viewed as a test for the Justice Department.

But because Mr. Reffitt did not plead guilty like hundreds of others arrested in connection with the attack and went to trial, Judge Friedrich said, the sentencing guidelines for his case were two years more than if he had reached a plea deal. But Judge Friedrich described Mr. Reffitt’s case as unusual on account of threats of violence he made against his children when he discovered he might be swept up in the federal investigation following the riot. The sentence comes as a parallel investigation being carried out by the House Jan. 6 committee has been gaining momentum. Prosecutors had asked that Mr. Reffitt be given 15 years after adding a sentencing enhancement used in cases of domestic terrorism. After a six-hour hearing, Judge Dabney L. Friedrich handed down a sentence at the low end of the guideline range. The sentencing capped a trial that was seen as an important test for the Justice Department, which is only beginning the marathon process of trying what could be scores of rioters.

The alleged far-right militia recruiter was turned in by his teenage son after the attack on Congress.

His mental health is an issue," she said, visibly emotional. "He said 'if you turn me in, you're a traitor," the younger Reffitt said at his father's trial earlier this year. The sentence Judge Friedrich handed down was slightly below what is recommended by federal guidelines. Having declined to testify at trial, Reffitt apologised in a brief statement before his sentencing, saying he had "an issue with just rambling and saying stupid [expletive]". Prosecutors had sought a 15-year prison term, arguing Reffitt was "in a class all by himself" among Capitol riot defendants, and other rioters were "looking to him as their leader". He retreated after an officer pepper sprayed him in the face, but video evidence showed Reffitt egging on the crowd and leading other rioters up a set of stairs outside the building.

A judge has sentenced Guy Reffitt, the first person convicted after a trial stemming from the January 6 Capitol riot, to 7 1/4 years in prison. It is the ...

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Washington — A federal judge on Monday sentenced Guy Reffitt, the Texas man convicted of bringing a handgun to the Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack, to 87 ...

It was another man's name," referring to former President Donald Trump, who addressed his throngs of supporters near the White House before they marched on the Capitol. Jackson described the threat his dad had made against him and his sister, Peyton, when they tried to turn him in: "If you turn me in you're a traitor, and traitors get shot." He said his father needed mental health care, which Friedrich said she would require as part of the sentence. "He didn't just want President Trump to stay in power," Nestler said. F. Clinton Broden, Reffitt's new attorney, disagreed with prosecutors' characterization of his client. Five others have been convicted by judges at bench trials. Reffitt's defense team had urged the judge to sentence him to no more than two years behind bars. He was found guilty in March of five criminal counts, including obstructing Congress' certification of President Biden's Electoral College win. Still, the sentence is the lengthiest handed down for a Jan. 6 defendant to date. The prosecutor alleged that Jan. 6 was "the beginning" for Reffitt. "He wanted the rest of his militia group to start taking over state capitols all around the country," Nestler said. In seeking the lengthier sentence, prosecutors said in court filings that Reffitt played a central role as part of the mob on Jan. 6, and intended "to use his gun and police-style flexicuffs to forcibly drag legislators out of the building and take over Congress." Addressing the court during Monday's hearing, Reffitt admitted he acted like a "f***ing idiot" on Jan. 6 and said he regretted his actions, apologizing to Congress and the officers he encountered that day.

A judge denied the prosecutors request for a terrorism sentencing enhancement for Guy Reffitt, who was carrying a gun with him when he charged towards the ...

"My father's name wasn't on all the flags that were there that day, that everyone was carrying," she said in court. Peyton Reffitt, one of Guy Reffitt's daughters, said her father was not a threat and that his mental health was "a real issue." "My father has lost himself to countless things," Jackson Reffitt wrote. "Back home in Texas, he thought he has gotten away with it." "I'm taking the Capitol with everybody f**king else," Guy Reffitt said in his own recording, as "Tiny Dancer" played at Trump's Jan. 6 rally. "This defendant has some frightening claims that border on delusional, and they are extraordinarily concerning for the court," Freidrich said. "But other defendants did too. "He wasn't done," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nestler said. Reffitt's daughter had previously written a letter to the judge that it was "enormously embarrassing" that her father — like a lot of "middle-aged white men" — was sucked in by Trump and that her dad "fell to his knees when President Trump spoke." Reffitt's own son actually tipped off the FBI a couple of weeks before Jan. 6 but didn't hear back until after the attack. The government had an enormous amount of evidence against Reffitt, including his friend's testimony that Reffitt was carrying zip ties and that the duo had made a decision to carry guns because they'd rather be " tried by a jury of twelve than carried by six." "We're all going to drag them motherf**kers out kicking and screaming, I don't give a s**t. I just want to see Pelosi's head hit every f**king stair on the way out, and Mitch McConnell too, f**k 'em all...

Peyton Reffitt also said during the Capitol riot trial that "my father's name wasn't on all the flags" on January 6.

Guy Reffitt carried a megaphone and had a camera mounted on his helmet during the riot. Guy Reffitt, who was armed with a handgun on January 6, wanted to specifically target Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and then- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell that day. The jury's verdict and today's sentence hold him accountable for his violent, unconscionable conduct." Guy Reffitt was arrested after being turned in by his own son. Speaking in court during the trial, Peyton Reffitt denied that her father was leading the riot on January 6. Doesn't seem right to me," Sarah Reffitt said.

The son of Guy Reffitt, the first US Capitol riot defendant to go to trial rather than take a plea agreement, said his father "absolutely" deserves the ...

But I'm not happy at all." "I mean, I'm not happy at all. "I mean, realistically, this doesn't have a matter of political opinion.

Nicole Reffitt talks to reporters outside of federal court in Washington, Tuesday, March 8, 2022. Her husband is Guy Wesley Reffitt, a Texas man who was ...

Guy Wesley Reffitt, 49, of Wylie, Texas, was the first to stand trial among the hundreds of defendants charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of ...

On Jan. 9, 2021, for instance, he wrote, “We took the Capital of the United States of America and we will do it again.” But his mood quickly changed. A Texas man was sentenced today to 87 months in prison on civil disorder, obstruction of justice, and other charges for his actions before, during, and after the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. NOW.” Heeding his own advice, he deleted from his iPhone a Telegram message thread between himself and the militia leader in which he disclosed his plans to be armed while attacking the Capitol. Reffitt was arrested on Jan. 16, 2021, and he has been detained ever since. He was specifically targeting Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. He told members of his militia group and those gathered around him at the Ellipse that he planned to physically drag Speaker Pelosi out of the Capitol Building by her ankles. He climbed a banister, led the mob up staircases outside the Capitol building, and kept advancing on the officers holding the police line, even as he was struck repeatedly by the officers’ less than lethal projectiles and O.C. spray. Among other things, he told the group, “we will strike the match in D.C. on the 6th.” Another militia member joined Reffitt, and the two left Texas on Jan. 4 for a trip of more than 1,000 miles in Reffitt’s car. According to the government’s evidence, Reffitt was a member of the Texas Three Percenters, a militia organization. He sent messages recruiting others in the group to join him in traveling to Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021. The investigation remains ongoing. The jury’s verdict and today’s sentence hold him accountable for his violent, unconscionable conduct.” I didn’t make it in there.

But the judge declined prosecutors' request to treat Guy Reffitt as a terrorist under sentencing guidelines.

“He was not the leader.” However, earlier this year, prosecutors reversed course, agreeing to let the pair plead to a lesser charge and promising not to recommend more than two years in prison. “Huge, huge … and does the firearm deserve three times the sentence if it was not brandished or used in any way?” the judge asked. “We’re not just talking about Jan. 6 cases,” he said. “Clearly, that’s what he wants.” “I want to apologize to my family, to the court, to legislators and their staff — everyone who was affected by my actions.” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nestler said Reffitt’s discussions before and after Jan. 6 made clear he was intent on carrying out his repeated threats to drag Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell from the Capitol building by force. “He was planning to overtake our government. Evidence and testimony at the trial for Reffitt earlier this year showed that the member of the Texas Three Percenters militia drove to Washington with an acquaintance the day before the riot, bringing two AR-15 rifles and a pistol along with him. My enemy of my enemy is my friend.” “It was all hyperbole. While the former oil field worker sought to be conciliatory, his remarks were disjointed and peppered with at least nine profanities.