First Jan. 6 attacker to go to trial guilty on all five counts
Guy Reffitt, the first Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol rioter to take his case to trial, was found guilty Tuesday on all five counts against him.
A jury found the Texas native guilty of attempting to obstruct the certification of the 2020 presidential election, transporting guns from Texas to D.C., bringing a firearm into restricted grounds of the Capitol, interfering with Capitol Police and threatening his son and daughter upon returning from the riot.
Reffitt, a member of the militia group the Texas Three Percenters, traveled with a fellow member from Texas to Washington, D.C., carrying handguns and rifles.
Both men brought guns to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, where Reffitt took a video of himself saying "We're taking the Capitol before the day is over."
Reffitt was outfitted in body armor and wearing flexi-cuffs.
In a later recording, Reffitt said that though he didn't go inside the Capitol building, "I started the fire."
The week-long trial against Reffitt included testimony from his son, Jackson Reffitt, who tipped off the FBI of his father's plans before Jan. 6.
Reffitt, who has been detained since his arrest on Jan. 16, 2021, will be sentenced June 8. He faces a maximum of 60 years in prison as well as financial penalties.
More than 775 Capitol rioters have been arrested to date.
Updated at 3:09 p.m.
