A federal jury found a Texas man guilty on all five counts against him in the first trial for the hundreds of people charged in the riot at the U.S. Capitol last year.
Guy Wesley Reffitt was charged with storming the Capitol with a holstered handgun strapped to his waist and interfering with police officers guarding the Senate doors. He was also charged with threatening his teenage children if they reported him to law enforcement after the attack on Jan. 6, 2021.
Reffitt, 49, of Wylie, Texas, didn’t testify at his trial, which started last Wednesday. His attorney, William Welch, didn’t present any witnesses after prosecutors rested their case on Monday. During the trial’s closing arguments, Assistant U.S. Attorney Risa Berkower told jurors that Reffitt drove to Washington, D.C., intending to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s electoral victory. Reffitt proudly “lit the fire” that allowed others in the mob to overwhelm Capitol police officers, the prosecutor said.
Welch denied that Reffitt had a gun at the Capitol and said there is no evidence that he engaged in any violence or destructive behavior. The defense lawyer urged jurors to acquit Reffitt of all charges but one: He said they should convict him of a misdemeanor charge that he entered and remained in a restricted area.
Reffitt was convicted on five felony counts — obstruction of an official proceeding, being unlawfully present on Capitol grounds while armed with a firearm, transporting firearms during a civil disorder, interfering with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder, and obstructing justice. The obstructing justice charge related to his threats against his children.