First Capitol rioter to stand trial gets seven years - the longest sentence yet: Texas far-right militia member 'egged crowd on' and warned his kids not to turn him in to FBI because 'traitors get shot'

Guy Reffitt, 49, a member of the far-right group the Three Percenters got 7.25 years behind bars and ordered to pay $2000 in restitution
He was convicted in March on five felony counts, including bringing a gun onto the Capitol grounds
During the sentencing he called himself an 'idiot' and said he was done with extremist groups
He was recorded on video outside the Capitol during the January 6 riot and later threatened his wife and children if they turned him in
His son, Jackson Reffitt, said he was in contact with the FBI after the DC riot on January 6
The son testified in court that that his father told him 'If you turn me in, you're a traitor and traitor's get shot'
Under federal sentencing guidelines, Reffitt Sr. faces up to 11 years at his sentencing on Monday
Federal prosecutors are asking for 15 years behind bars for his crimes

By Reuters and Janon Fisher For Dailymail.Com

Published: 16:06 EDT, 1 August 2022 | Updated: 08:25 EDT, 2 August 2022


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.

'He said, 'If you turn me in, you're a traitor,'' his 19-year-old son, Jackson Reffitt told jurors. ''And traitors get shot.'

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.

He was heard on his GoPo camera recording saying he planned to drag House Speaker Nancy Pelosi out by her feet 'with her head hitting every step on the way down,' according to a copy of the recording submitted at trial.

Reffitt lost his swagger at the hours-long sentencing where the feds sought 15 years for his crimes.

He decided to address the court, reversing his previous decision, though he said that his anxiety over public speaking was 'crushing him,' according to NBC News.

'I don't want anything to do with any groups or militias or any stupid sh*t like that,' he said. 'I do deeply regret everything.'

Reffitt was brought to tears at trial as his son told the jury about how his father threatened him if he dared to call the FBI. The elder Reffitt wiped away tears as his son Jackson testified that he felt 'gross' when he googled 'FBI tip' in order to report his father.

Later, Jackson Reffitt 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.

Judge Dabney Freidrich doubted Reffitt's conversion.

'I can't help but wonder, whether like many other Jan. 6 defendants, [if] I'm hearing what I'd like to hear from you as opposed to what you really believe,' the judge said.

'I clearly f**ked up,' he replied.

Even after his arrest, he wrote a letter on behalf of other incarcerated rioters.

'I hope that was the only day in American history we would without doubt feel the need to notify our government they have transgressed much too far,' he said.

Freidrich said that the claims in his letter 'border on the delusional.'

'He hasn't walked back his statements about being a martyr,' she said. 'He hasn't walked back his statements about being a patriot. And so, as here he sits, I have to consider: what is this man going to do when he's released from prison?'



Still, his family stuck by his side after turning him in.

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.

His family set up a crowdfunding page on GiveSendGo asking for donations for his defense.

'Guy stood on the stairs of our Capitol that day not to cause terror, but to stand up to the corruption and evil that has eroded our government. You, the American people, have supported the Reffitts through some of the darkest days this family has endured, and I am now asking for a rally,' Nicole Reffitt wrote.

After the sentencing, Nicole Reffitt defended her husband, calling him a 'patriot' and saying the trial was 'political,' according to CBS reporter Rob Legare.

His daughters Peyton and Sara, defended their dad, after the sentencing, blaming former President Donald Trump.

'Trump deserves life in prison if my father's in prison for this long,' Sara Reffitt said.

The Texas dad was the first Capitol rioter to go to trial in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

He was caught on camera with a Smith & Wesson pistol in a hip holster. He also carried zip-tie handcuffs

To date, federal prosecutors have prevailed and won convictions in all but one of 13 trials tied to the Capitol attack.

Federal prosecutors had asked U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich to sentence Reffitt to 15 years, more than the U.S. sentencing guidelines recommend, citing Reffitt's crime as being 'calculated to influence or affect the conduct of government by intimidation or coercion.'

But on Monday, as the sentencing stretched into its fifth hour, the judge rejected the federal prosecutors' arguments.

'There are a lot of cases where defendants possessed weapons or committed very violent assaults,' Politico reported the judge saying. Friedrich noted that the harshest sentences so far have been for little more than five years.

'The government is asking for a sentence that is three times as long as any other defendant and the defendant did not assault an officer,' according to Politico's coverage.

Reffitt's attorney has sought to portray him as man who felt marginalized and down on his luck after losing his job in 2019.

Depressed and suicidal, his attorney said he turned to political news on social media and became a fervent believer in former President Donald Trump.

His daughter Peyton told the court in a letter she could see how her father's ego and personality 'fell to his knees when President Trump spoke.'

'You could tell he listened to Trump's words as if he was really truly speaking to him ... Constantly feeding polarizing racial thought.'

His attorney F. Clinton Broden said that while his client broke the law, his actions were not as egregious as those of others who entered the Capitol and assaulted police.

He noted that Reffitt will get credit for the 19 months he has already spent behind bars since his arrest, and has asked the judge to impose a sentence of no more than two years.