A protester who was present during the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 was sentenced this Monday to more than 7 years in prison after a judge denied the Justice Department’s request for an aggravated terrorism charge, which was to result in a longer jail sentence.
The subject identified as Guy Reffitt, whose son took charge denouncing him to the FBI a few weeks before that January 6, he was the first accused of the insurrection to go to trial.
The US government collected a large amount of evidence against Reffitt, including that of a a friend of his who stated that Reffitt was wearing ties and that both made the decision to bear arms because they preferred to be “tried by a jury of twelve, than to be led by six”.
Reffitt was convicted in March on five counts , including transportation of a firearm p to support civil disobedience and obstruction of an officer’s proceedings; however, he was unable to enter the Capitol nor did he apply physical violence because he was incapacitated after confronting the police line.
Judge Dabnet L. Friedrich sentenced Reffitt to a total of 87 months in jail, three years probation, $2,000 dollars in restitution and mandatory mental health treatment.
“Under no legitimate definition of the term patriot, Mr. Reffitt’s behavior around January 6 fits the term,” Friedrich pointed out.
The judge added that what was done by Reffitt and the rest of the capitol rioters represents the “antithesis of patriotism”.
On the possibility of extending Reffitt’s sentence, Judge Friedrich, who was appointed by Trump, indicated that granting him an increased sentence for carrying a weapon during the commission of a crime and committing a crime of domestic terrorism could create a sentencing disparity with other defendants on January 6.
“There are many cases in which the defendants committed very violent assaults and even possessed weapons that they did not received this release,” the judge said.
During Monday’s sentencing, Reffitt regretted his actions and referred to himself as a “damn idiot” who “wasn’t thinking clearly ” when he sought to storm the legislative building.
“I definitely wanted to apologize. Multiple apologies really, and accepting my responsibility because I hate what I did,” he lamented.
Reffitt used to belong to the right-wing paramilitary group called Three Percenters, but he told Friedrich that he no longer wanted to associate with groups of militias considering that it was “stupid”.
With information from NBC News