By Ryan J. Reilly
WASHINGTON — The first Jan. 6 defendant to take his case to trial was found guilty Tuesday of all charges related to his role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Guy Reffitt, a Texas man who attempted to storm the U.S. Capitol while armed with a gun and zip ties, was convicted of all five counts against him, including transport of a firearm in support of civil disorder and obstruction of an official proceeding. Jurors began deliberating Tuesday morning after a weeklong trial in which they heard testimony from Reffitt’s teenage son, Jackson Reffitt, who tipped off the FBI about his father before the Jan. 6 attack.
Prosecutors, quoting the elder Reffitt’s own words, argued that the defendant had “lit the match” on the west side of the Capitol, where some of the most brutal attacks on law enforcement took place. Video shows Reffitt, with a blue jacket covering his waistband, leading the mob up the steps of the Capitol, besides the platform where Joe Biden was inaugurated.
The most damning evidence against the Donald Trump supporter was produced by the defendant himself. Over and over again — both before and after Jan. 6 — Reffitt recorded himself in various forums talking about what he planned to do and what he did. He even bragged about his conduct on a Zoom call that he recorded himself, which the government found on an external hard drive.
More than 750 people have been arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 attack, and hundreds more cases are in the works. Over 200 defendants have already been sentenced.
