WASHINGTON (AFP) -- A jury began deliberations on Tuesday in the trial of a Texas man accused of leading a “vigilante mob” of Donald Trump supporters in storming the U.S. Capitol.
Guy Reffitt, 49, a member of a right-wing militia group called the Three Percenters, is the first person to go on trial on charges stemming from the January 6, 2021 attack on Congress.
The case, being tried in a federal court in Washington, is being closely watched for its potential bearing on future prosecutions of other Capitol riot defendants.
“Guy Reffitt lit the fire of the very first group of rioters that breached the Capitol,” prosecutor Risa Berkower said in closing arguments on Monday.
“The vigilante mob was ignited by the defendant,” Berkower said. “Every mob needs leaders and this defendant was a leader that day.”
Reffitt is facing multiple charges including bringing a gun to Washington, interfering with police and impeding an official proceeding -- the certification by Congress of Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the November 2020 presidential election.
Reffitt, an oil industry worker from Wylie, Texas, is also accused of threatening his teenaged son and daughter if they spoke to law enforcement of his involvement in the attack on the Capitol.
Reffitt’s then 18-year-old son did go to the FBI despite his father’s warning that “traitors get shot” and delivered emotional testimony against his father in court.
His daughter had been expected to testify but did not.
Video of Reffitt confronting police on the steps of the Capitol and urging on the pro-Trump crowd was repeatedly played for the 12-person jury during four days of testimony.
Sergeant Matthew Flood, a Capitol Police officer, testified that Reffitt was “waving towards the rioters, gesturing for them to move forward.”
“He was in front,” Flood said. “He was leading them up the stairs.”
Prosecutors also displayed text messages from Reffitt from before January 6 in which he promised to drag lawmakers out of Congress “by their hair.”
“The election didn’t yield the results he wanted so he took matters into his own hands,” Berkower said.
Reffitt was wearing body armor and a helmet, carrying zip-tie handcuffs and armed with a .40 caliber handgun when he arrived at the Capitol, she said.
“He went there for a purpose -- to overthrow Congress,” the assistant U.S. attorney said.
William Welch, Reffitt’s lawyer, did not present any witnesses and said his client was guilty only of being in a restricted area -- the perimeter around the Capitol.
“Guy does brag a lot,” Welch said. “He embellishes. He uses a lot of hyperbole.”
More than 750 people have been arrested for their roles in the January 6 attack.