EXTREMISMTexan Who Prosecutors Say “Lit the Match” of Jan. 6 Riot Sentenced to More Than 7 Years in Prison
Guy Reffitt, a 49-year-old Wylie resident, never entered the Capitol but helped ignite the crowd “into an unstoppable force,” a prosecutor at his trial said. His sentence is the longest given out so far from the Jan. 6 riot.
Guy Reffitt, a Texan who prosecutors said “lit the match” of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, was sentenced to 7 1/4 years in prison on Monday, the longest sentence of any rioter to date but less than what the Justice Department had pushed for.
Reffitt, a 49-year-old from Wylie, was the first rioter to to be convicted at trial in March when a jury found him guilty on five counts: two counts of civil disorder and one count each of obstruction of an official proceeding, entering and remaining on restricted grounds with a firearm and obstruction of justice.
Reffitt, who was a recruiter for the antigovernment movement The Three Percenters, never entered the Capitol but helped ignite the crowd “into an unstoppable force” against police officers who were attempting to protect the Senate wing doors, a prosecutor at the trial said. He was equipped with a handgun, body armor, a helmet, radio and flex cuffs.
“Reffitt sought not just to stop Congress, but also to physically attack, remove, and replace the legislators who were serving in Congress. This is a quintessential example of an intent to both influence and retaliate against government conduct through intimidation or coercion,” prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memo.
Prosecutors sought to enhance his sentence to 15 years using a provision in federal law that allows for harsher punishment in terrorism cases, though Reffitt was not convicted of a terrorism charge. Reffitt’s case is the first time prosecutors have sought a terrorism enhancement sentencing for a Jan. 6 rioter.
The longest sentence of all Jan. 6 rioters was previously 5 1/4 years, which was given to two defendants. Prosecutors claimed that because Reffitt was armed with a firearm, chose to go to trial and was a primary instigator in the riots, he deserved the longest sentence to date.
F. Clinton Broden, a Texas-based lawyer whom Reffitt retained after his conviction, called for a sentencing of 24 months, claiming the case is different than other Jan. 6 rioters because Reffitt never entered the building, did not assault police and did not remove the handgun from his holster. Reffitt never conceded at the trial that he had a loaded weapon but bragged to fellow Three Percenters after the insurrection that “we all had weapons but never fired a single round.” Reffitt has already been held for 19 months in a Washington, D.C., jail.
