The First Trial Begins
Guy Wesley Reffitt made it to the finish line: February 28, 2022 his trial began. It’s the first day of trial for any of the defendants charged with events relating to the events of January 6.
Reffitt faces five charges obstruction of official proceeding, trespass, obstruction of officers during a civil disorder, and hindering communication.
Per the DOJ, Reffitt did not enter the Capitol building. There is an allegation of engaging with officers, but the DOJ freely admits that Reffitt was hit with rubber bullets and two types of chemical irritants and other forms of non-lethal force. The government has on its planned exhibit list a photograph of Reffitt’s naked torso, showing bruising from being hit by rubber bullets, which they extracted from his laptop pursuant to a warrant.
The government is also alleging that he had one or two firearms with him at the Capitol that day, but that he did not show or use. The government witness lists and exhibit lists indicate the DOJ will only be introducing a holster that they found at his house when doing the search at the point of arrest. The original allegations of the DOJ were that Reffitt “had with him two firearms, at least two firearms, an AR-15 firearm and a handgun. It looks like this was not true.
Another unique aspect of the charges against Reffitt is the allegation that he threatened to harm his teenage children if they told anyone about his trip to the Capitol. The details are more interesting than you might expect. Reffitt’s 18-year-old son contacted the FBI ahead of January 6. The boy called the FBI in December 2020 and reported that his father was threatening to go to Washington, D.C. and specifically to do harm against members of Congress.
The FBI apparently did not even investigate the claim. It is yet another instance of someone saying that they alerted the FBI – ahead of January 6 – of specific individuals with specific intentions and plans –but the FBI did nothing. This is yet another case that has me asking: if the FBI had these tips, why wasn’t this person stopped ahead of January 6?
At Reffitt’s detention hearing last March, both his teenage daughter and his wife testified that they wanted him released to home and that they would serve on his oversight. The daughter testified that after the conversation with their father, her brother went off to play video games, giggling about it as he left the room.
Reffitt is one of the near 40 defendants who have been incarcerated pending trial. He is also one of the January 6 defendants who has been denied proper medical care and treatment. Reffitt was in an ICU for three days during his detention because he was not given prescription medication. During those days, his family was unable to locate or communicate with him or get updates about his medical condition. According to Reffitt’s attorney, he requires medication for anxiety, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.
Reffitt was held over pending trial because a judge found “I think that mixing firearms with the riot and his membership in the militia makes him a danger to the community. That’s really what this all at bottom boils down to. I think that’s why it weighs in favor of detention.”
Well, now it’s the government’s burden of proof to show that Reffitt had firearms on his person while he was at the Capitol on January 6 and it appears that they aren’t going to be pursuing those allegations. A man has spent a year in prison based on those allegations. That, plus an allegation of being a member of the Texas III.
Stay tuned.
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Tune in to my hour-long spot on “Lock N Load Radio” with host Bill Frady from February 28, 2021 for a deeper dive into this case and a discussion of the issues it presents, particularly in the context of the citizens of Ukraine taking up their own arms to fight back against an unwanted invasion.
Click over to my resources page to see copies of the government’s witness list and the “voir dire” questions that will be asked of jurors in the pool.
