U.S. federal prosecutors will make opening statements in the first of what could be hundreds of criminal trials of people accused of joining the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the Capitol by Donald Trump's supporters
Guy Reffitt, of Texas, is the first of some 750 people charged with joining the attack, the largest on Congress since the War of 1812, to face trial in Washington. Charges include carrying a semi-automatic handgun while on Capitol grounds.
A guilty verdict for Reffitt could motivate defendants to accept plea deals offered by prosecutors. But a verdict in Reffitt's favor could motivate the hundreds of defendants who have not taken plea deals to roll the dice on a trial. The accused's estranged son Jackson, now 19, turned him into the FBI. The son is expected to testify against his father at trial, prosecutors have said.
Thousands of people stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, after a fiery speech in which Trump falsely claimed his election defeat was the result of widespread fraud, an assertion rejected by multiple courts, state election officials and members of his own administration.
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