Monday 1 August 2022 09:12 PM First Capitol rioter to be found guilty sentenced to 7 years in prison after ... trends now
A member of the far-right Three Percenters militia was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for his role in the January 6 riot at the Capitol Building - the longest sentence yet for any of the insurrectionists.
Guy Reffitt, 49, of Wylie, Texas, was convicted by a jury in March of five felony charges, including bringing a gun onto the Capitol grounds and obstructing an official proceeding.
He had threatened to harm his own children if they ratted him out to the FBI.
Federal guidelines recommend a prison sentence of 9 to 11.25 years for those crimes, prosecutors say.
Reffitt never entered the Capitol, but video evidence showed him egging on the crowd and leading other rioters up a set of stairs outside the building.
Guy Reffitt (pictured at the Capitol), 48, of Texas, who was arrested in connection to the riot at the Capitol earlier this month, allegedly threatened to shoot his children if they became 'traitors' and turned him in to the FBI
Jackson Reffitt, pictured, alerted the FBI to his dad's alleged role in the Capitol riots
Guy Reffitt's wife, Nicole (C), with her daughters Sara (L), and Peyton (R), depart the federal court house in Washington, DC, on Monday after husband's conviction
His emotionally charged trial included testimony from his estranged son Jackson, who brought his father to tears as he told the jury about how his father threatened him if he dared to call the FBI.
'He said, 'If you turn me in, you're a traitor,'' Jackson Reffitt told jurors. ''And traitors get shot.''
The son told The New York Times that he felt bad for turning his father in, but he doesn't regret it.
'I would say I'm sorry, because I don't feel like I put him in this situation, but I still feel guilty. I would do it again,' Jackson told the paper.
The insurrectionist's wife Nicole Reffitt said that she didn't think her husband would act on his statements, but said that the family was 'disturbed' by the comments.
Reffitt was the first Capitol rioter to go to trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
To date, federal prosecutors have prevailed and won convictions in all
