Reffitt cast as mob leader by prosecutors

Guy Wesley Reffitt has pleaded not guilty to all counts.
"The defendant was the tip of this mob’s spear," one federal prosecutor said.
Two of Reffitt's teenage children are expected to be called as prosecution witnesses.

WASHINGTON – Federal prosecutors on Wednesday opened the first jury trial to emerge from the sprawling investigation of the Capitol assault on Jan. 6, 2021, casting a Texas man as the "tip of this mob's spear" when rioters sought to halt the certification of the 2020 presidential election.

In opening statements, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nestler said Guy Wesley Reffitt, a member of the paramilitary Three Percenters, plunged into the crowd with a handgun holstered to his waist, planning to target House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

"We’re taking the Capitol before the day is over," Nestler said, referring to messages the defendant allegedly sent to associates.

"I just want to see Pelosi’s head hitting every f------ stair on the way out," Reffitt allegedly boasted in another message.

"The defendant was the tip of this mob’s spear," Nestler said. "He planned to light the match to start the fire."

Reffitt attorney William Welch offered a brief rejection of the government's case. He said his client had no violent intentions, claiming Reffitt "never assaulted anyone."

If Reffitt is guilty of anything, it was engaging in hyperbole, the attorney said.

"Guy does brag," Welch said. "He exaggerates; he rants."

Welch denied that Reffitt was armed or interfered with officers seeking to stop the onslaught.

"This is a trial of proof versus fiction," Welch said.

More:DOJ charges 11 Oath Keepers, including leader, with seditious conspiracy in Jan. 6 Capitol attack

Reffitt, 49, of Wylie, Texas, is charged with obstructing Congress, interfering with law enforcement, two firearm-related charges and obstructing justice. He has pleaded not guilty to all counts.

Wearing a dark sport coat, blue shirt, blue jeans and hair swept back in a ponytail, Reffitt displayed little reaction. He took notes during the government's presentation and watched from his chair when his attorney took the podium.

The government's first witness – a Capitol Police officer – contradicted the defense lawyer's account.

Narrating a video showing an angry crowd advancing up an outside stairway of the Capitol, officer Shauni Kerkhoff identified Reffitt, wearing a blue coat and black tactical helmet, as leading a flag-waving mob.

Kerkhoff, who has left the Capitol Police, said Reffitt disregarded repeated commands to stop, prompting her and two other officers to launch a barrage of nonlethal projectiles.

"They didn’t seem to take effect," Kerkhoff told the jury, and Reffitt waved the crowd on. "My concern is that they would get to members of Congress."

Kerkhoff estimated that she fired 40 to 50 projectiles, aiming at Reffitt's chest, shins and thighs. Nothing seemed to stop the mob advancing toward the officers, she said.

Fearing that the officers would be overtaken, Kerkhoff made an urgent call for help – "We need backup!" – according to a radio transmission played for the jury.

More:A Texas man will be the first Jan. 6 defendant to face a jury. His trial could set the tone for others.

Opening arguments and the first witness testimony followed two days of jury selection that underscored the challenge of seating an impartial panel in a case drawn from the violent insurrection that unfolded on live television and within blocks of some of the prospective jurors' homes.

Nine men and seven women, including four alternates, were seated late Tuesday.

During questioning Tuesday, candidates not only expressed strong feelings about the attack but some described their associations with Capitol Police officers who were injured that day.

More:130 officers have left Capitol Police since Jan. 6 insurrection, watchdog tells Senate hearing

More:4 police died by suicide after the Capitol riot; it's the reason their names won't be memorialized

A Capitol Hill resident was excused after acknowledging that he had seen a photograph of Reffitt and a news report outlining the charges against him.

Included in the report were details about a threat Reffitt allegedly made against his children, warning them not to cooperate with federal authorities seeking information about his involvement in the riot.

Two of Reffitt's teenage children are expected to be called as prosecution witnesses.

Nestler set the stage Wednesday for the testimony of Jackson Reffitt, 19, who the prosecutor said made the "wrenching decision" to approach the FBI on Christmas Eve 2020 to alert them about his father's plans for Jan. 6.

"The defendant told his son about plans to commit acts of violence," Nestler told jurors.

"What’s about to happen will shock the world," Reffitt allegedly told his son. "That’s why I’m going to D.C."

When Reffitt returned home, aware that the insurrection had prompted the far-reaching federal investigation, he allegedly warned his son and daughter not to share the information with investigators.

As Reffitt allegedly regaled family members about his experience at the Capitol, Jackson Reffitt used his cellphone to record his father.

Prosecutors said they will use the son's testimony to "introduce and authenticate" five of the audio recordings for the jury.

The children, according to court documents, were in the family kitchen when the 17-year-old daughter "heard her father tell them that if they turned him in to law enforcement, they would be traitors, and that traitors get shot."

The trial, which is likely to serve as a template for more to follow, proceeds amid strict coronavirus-related controls that limit in-person access to the courtroom.

More:Vegas parking valet, Yale law graduate, unhinged Oath Keepers leader: Who is Stewart Rhodes?

More:Judge rejects in-person public access to testimony in first Jan. 6 jury trial, cites COVID-19

U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich relaxed a ruling that would have barred the public and media from observing testimony and the presentation of evidence, allowing for a member of the media, a Reffitt family member and one public seat.

To provide adequate social distancing, the jury is seated in the courtroom gallery, traditionally reserved for the public.

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Reffitt cast as mob leader by prosecutors

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