Guy Refitt, of Valley, Texas, was convicted in March of five felony counts, including carrying a weapon on the Capitol and obstructing an official proceeding. Under federal guidelines, the recommended sentence for these crimes is between 7.25 and 9 years in prison. His sentence is the longest ever given to a January 6 defendant. Reffitt addressed the court during the sentencing hearing, saying he had “a lot of apologies to make”. “I want to apologize a lot. I was, to put it bluntly, an idiot,” he said. “I don’t want anything to do with militia groups or stupid s*** like that. I’d be lucky if I could get into a church group after that with my mouth.” He said he really wanted to apologize to my family, the court, the legislators and their staff and everyone who was affected by my actions… I don’t know what I was thinking… My mouth is my worst enemy.’ Prosecutors asked for a 15-year prison sentence for Reffitt using terrorism as a sentencing enhancement, but the judge rejected the request. F. Clinton Broden, the defense attorney representing Reffitt, said the sentence requested by prosecutors was too high given that his client had committed no acts of violence and had no criminal history. “It makes a mockery of the criminal justice system, the Sixth Amendment right to trial, and the victims of assault by [others] to argue that Mr. Reffitt should be sentenced to a sentence greater than (if not three times greater than) a defendant who assaulted police officers on at least two separate occasions, spent three hours at the Capitol, and has a history of violence.” wrote Mr. Broden. According to the Washington Post, Jeffrey Nestler and Risa Berkower, the assistant US attorneys pushing for the 15-year sentence, said Reffitt’s case is exceptional. They claimed he played a “central role” in leading the mob of Donald Trump supporters against police and on Capitol Hill. Further exacerbating his situation is the fact that Reffitt threatened his son and teenage daughter after the event, warning them that “if you turn me in, you’re a traitor and traitors are shot”. Prosecutors argued that the federal sentencing recommendations were “inadequate” when considering Reffitt’s violations, namely obstruction, weapons offenses and witness tampering. “Reffitt sought not only to stop Congress, but also to physically attack, remove and replace lawmakers serving in Congress,” prosecutors wrote. US attorneys called his conduct “a substantial example of intent to both influence and retaliate against government conduct through intimidation or coercion.” Refitt recorded himself at Trump’s rally before the riot, during which he said he would drag lawmakers — including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell “outside kicking and screams” from Capitol Hill, Pelosi’s head banging with every step. the way down.” He reportedly traveled to Washington, D.C. from Texas with an AR-style rifle and a .40-caliber handgun and said on multiple occasions that he planned to use plastic cuffs to restrain lawmakers and drag them out of the Capitol.
