Federal prosecutors in Washington wrapped up the first criminal trial stemming from the Jan. 6 insurrection, urging a jury to convict Texas militia member Guy Reffitt on charges including obstruction of Congress and threatening his teenage children to keep them quiet.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Risa Berkower on Monday reviewed evidence from the riot last year by supporters of former President Donald Trump, including cell-phone video that showed Reffitt leading the first group up the Capitol steps before he was stopped by pepper spray from police.
“This defendant lit the fire in that moment so even after he was stopped they continue their advance, assaulting officers and screaming profanities as the defendant waived them on,” Berkower said in a closing statement after a six-day trial. “He went there for a purpose — to overthrow Congress.”
The trial is a bellwether for how other cases may pan out. More than 700 people were charged with crimes stemming from the deadly march on the Capitol, which was aimed at preventing Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s victory over Trump in the 2020 presidential election.
In her statement, Berkower reminded the jury of text messages Reffitt sent to his family members in the weeks leading up to Jan. 6, assuring them that he was serious about trying to forcibly remove lawmakers before they could certify Biden’s victory.
“Hold my beer and I’ll show you,” Reffitt told his wife and children.
The prosecutor sought to push back against Reffitt’s key defense argument that Reffitt’s extensive trail of text messages and recordings about Jan. 6 were just examples of the militia member boasting and exaggerating to his friends and family.
“This was not bragging, this was not hype,” Berkower said. “It was real for the people in the building who ran for their lives.”
