A Texas man has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison for his role in the attack on the US Capitol. A federal court on Monday (local time) in Washington sentenced 49-year-old Guy Wesley Reffitt to 87 months in prison for resisting state authority, obstructing justice and other offenses. It is the highest prison sentence so far in the processing of January 6, 2021.
According to the evidence, Refitt was a member of the Texas Three Percenters militia. Among other things, he sent messages to other members of the group to recruit them for the trip to Washington on January 6, 2021.
Refitt was the first defendant to stand trial for the storming of the Capitol. A jury had already found him guilty on March 8, including penetrating a protected area with a weapon.
Videos show the Texas oil worker confronting police officers on the steps of the US Capitol and goading other attackers. The prosecution had described him during the trial as “the spearhead of this mob”. “He lit the match that started the fire.”
“Guy Reffitt came to the Capitol on Jan. 6 armed and intent on inciting violence,” Washington District Attorney Matthew Graves said. In Refitt’s own words, his goal was to take the Capitol “before the day ends.”
On January 6, 2021, supporters of the then US President Donald Trump violently stormed the seat of parliament in the capital Washington. Congress met there to certify the victory of Trump’s Democratic challenger Joe Biden in the previous presidential election.
Five people were killed in the riots, including a police officer. Trump had recently incited his supporters at a rally by claiming that his election victory had been stolen.
