WASHINGTON — The first person to go on trial for participating in the Jan. 6 riot was accused by prosecutors of being “the match that started the fire” for thousands of people who stormed the Capitol.
Guy Reffitt, a member of the far-right Three Percenter militia who had joined the riot along with other supporters of former President Donald Trump, arrived in Washington the day before the deadly assault with two guns and a plan to “drive our elected representatives physically out of their chambers,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nestler told jurors Wednesday.
“A mob needs leaders, and this man, Guy Wesley Reffitt, drove all the way from his home in Texas to D.C. to step up and fulfill that role,” Nestler said in Washington federal court on the first day of trial. “In the defendant’s own words, he lit the match that started the fire.”
Reffitt’s son, Jackson, went to authorities with details about his father’s alleged actions after federal agents began arresting riot participants across the country. The 18-year-old is the government’s star witness. He’s expected to testify that Reffitt bragged about his lead role in the riot, and that he was afraid for his life after his father threatened him and his sister to stay quiet.
More than 700 people have been charged with participating in the assault on the Capitol, including dozens of militia members who are set to go on trial for conspiracy and sedition charges later this year. Almost 200 have pleaded guilty, and about 70 have been sentenced. The mob was inspired by Trump’s false claim that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen from him — a claim that he and other Republicans continue to make.
Reffitt, armed with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and a Smith & Wesson pistol, was at the front of the first group of rioters to challenge a police line that was trying to prevent the Capitol from being breached. He allegedly bragged to other rioters about his plan to drag lawmakers “by their ankles” down the steps of the Capitol, and to rain “fire” on Capitol police if necessary.
“They are lucky we didn’t shoot them — they really need to be grateful,” Reffitt said in electronic messages to other participants after the riot, according to the prosecutor.
Defense attorney William Welch told the jury during his opening statement that the case against Reffitt is based on a “rush to judgment” about a man who overstated his role in the attack when discussing it with other militia members.
“Guy Reffitt did not go in the Capitol, he did not break anything, he did not take anything,” Welch said. “Guy does brag. He exaggerates and he rants. He uses a lot of hyperbole, and that upsets people.”
While Reffitt never fired his weapons and retreated “after being pepper sprayed in the face,” he played a role in escalating the conflict, the U.S. said in a pre-trial court filing.
“This action caused the police line guarding the building to retreat closer to the building itself,” according to the filing. “Soon after this, law enforcement was overwhelmed, and rioters flooded the building.”
Former Capitol Police officer Shaunie Kerkhoff, the first witness, provided jurors with a detailed explanation of security measures taken on Jan. 6 and the mob’s efforts to overcome them. Kerkhoff, who served 4 1/2 years on the force, said Reffitt led a large group that breached a security fence made of bike racks and confronted her as he forced his way up the steps of the Capitol terrace.
“We were the only thing standing between thousands of people and Congress,” Kerkhoff said, adding that she was worried she’d have to use her firearm. “It was becoming a dire situation.”
Kerkhoff told the jury how she fired pepper balls at Reffitt that didn’t seem to have any effect on him. She said Reffitt continued pointing upward, directing other rioters to continue the assault up the terrace stairs. They eventually stopped Reffitt with pepper spray, but the mob only got worse, she said.
“They were calling us traitors, saying we should get out of their way,” Kerkhoff said. “They said they supported us, and now we were betraying them.
“It made me angry,” she added.
The jury was shown cellphone video taken from within the mob that captured a close-up view of Kerkhoff confronting Reffitt from her perch at the top of the terrace stairs. The video of people waving Trump 2020 flags and American flags also shows the crowd being hit with pepper spray.
After returning to Texas, Reffitt allegedly boasted to his children about what he had done, and showed them recordings from a helmet-mounted camera he wore on Jan. 6. He then threatened them, saying that they would be traitors if they reported him to police, and that “traitors get shot,” according to court filings.
“He predicted future political violence in statements both to his family and to fellow militia members, bragged to fellow militia members about his involvement in the riot, recruited other rioters into the militia, and ordered bear spray and riot shields to his home to prepare for further violence,” the U.S. has said.
Reffitt is charged with transporting firearms for use in a civil disorder, obstructing an official proceeding, being in a restricted area while armed, and interfering with police officers. He’s also charged with obstruction of justice for threatening his children, who were witnesses. The trial is being overseen by U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, a Trump appointee.
