A Texas man convicted of storming the U.S. Capitol with a gun, helmet and body armor was sentenced Monday to more than seven years in prison, the longest sentence handed down so far among hundreds of Capitol riot cases. Prosecutors said Guy Refitt told fellow Texas Three Percenters militia group that he planned to drag House Speaker Nancy Pelosi out of the Capitol building by her ankles, “with her head banging every step of the way to the down,” according to a court. . Reffitt’s prison sentence — seven years and three months — is two years longer than the previous longest prison sentence for a Capitol riot defendant. But it’s less than half the 15-year sentence sought by a federal prosecutor, who called Refitt a domestic terrorist and said he wanted to remove and replace natural members of Congress. Refitt was the first to stand trial for the January 6, 2021 attack, in which supporters of then-US President Donald Trump disrupted a joint session of Congress to certify Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory. U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, who presided over Reffitt’s jury trial, also sentenced him to three years of supervised release after his prison term and ordered him to pay $2,000 in restitution. The sentencing guidelines assessed by the judge called for a prison term of seven years and three months to nine years. Friedrich rejected prosecutors’ contention that an “upward departure for terrorism” — leading to a much longer sentence — is warranted in Refitt’s case. It was the first time prosecutors had asked for an enhanced sentence in a Jan. 6 case. “He wanted to physically and literally remove Congress,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nestler told the judge. “We believe he is a domestic terrorist.” Friedrich, however, questioned why Reffitt would deserve the terror boost when so many other rioters were engaging in violence and making similarly disturbing threats. The longest sentence before Reffitt was five years and three months, for two men who pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers on Capitol Hill. Reffitt, who has already been jailed for about 19 months, initially avoided speaking to the judge during Monday’s hearing. But he changed his mind during a lunch break and delivered a stormy apology to police officers, lawmakers and congressional officials on Capitol Hill on January 6. Calling himself an “idiot,” Reffitt tried to explain why he stormed the Capitol. “It was a big blur,” he said. “It was just very chaotic and confusing.” Friedrich questioned the sincerity of Refitt’s apology and expressions of remorse, noting that he releases statements from prison in which he portrays himself and other rioters as patriots who were justifiably rebelling against a tyrannical US government. “Not only are they unpatriotic, they are direct threats to our democracy and will be punished as such,” the judge said. Reffitt suggested that his fiery rhetoric from prison was all too necessary to raise money to support his family. “I’m on the way if I don’t say something that will raise money for them,” he said. Defense attorney Clinton Broden asked that Refit be sentenced to no more than two years in prison. Broden noted that Refit did not attack any law enforcement officers or enter the Capitol building. The videos captured the confrontation between outnumbered Capitol Police officers and a crowd of people, including Refitt, who approached them on the west side of the Capitol. Reffitt was armed with a Smith & Wesson handgun in a holster on his waist, handcuffed with zippers and wearing body armor and a helmet equipped with a video camera when he advanced on officers, according to prosecutors. He retreated after an officer pepper-sprayed him in the face, but he waved off other rioters who eventually breached the building, prosecutors said. Reffitt did not testify at his trial before a jury convicted him in March of all five counts in his indictment. The jury found him guilty of obstructing a joint session of Congress, interfering with police officers outside the Capitol and threatening his two teenage children if they reported him to law enforcement. Refitt’s 19-year-old son, Jackson, testified that his father told him and his sister, then 16, that they would be traitors if they reported him to the authorities and warned them that “traitors get shot.” Guy Reffitt was a member of the Texas Three Percenters militia group, according to prosecutors. The Three Percenters movement refers to the myth that only 3% of Americans fought in the Revolutionary War against the British. Reffitt lived with his wife and children in Wylie, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. He drove to Washington, DC, along with Rocky Hardie, a member of the militia group. Hardy testified that both were armed with handguns when they attended Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally before the riot. Hardy also said Refit gave him two pairs of zip-tie cuffs in case someone needed to be restrained. More than 840 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the riot. More than 340 of them have pleaded guilty, mostly to misdemeanors. More than 220 have been convicted, with almost half of them serving prison terms. About 150 others have trial dates that stretch through 2023. Reffitt is one of seven Capitol riot defendants tried by a jury so far. Jurors unanimously convicted all seven of all counts in their respective indictments.