A jury in Washington, D.C. has found Capitol rioter and Texas resident Guy Reffitt guilty on five federal charges for his role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol Building, including obstruction of an official proceeding, transporting weapons into the District of Columbia, interfering with the Capitol Police, and bringing a Smith & Wesson handgun to the Capitol grounds.
According to CNN, the jury also found Reffitt guilty of obstruction of justice for threatening his son and daughter after returning to Texas following the Capitol riot. The 12 jurors, who included six men and six women, deliberated for less than four hours on Tuesday, March 8 before finding Reffitt guilty on all five of the federal charges he was facing.
The January 6, 2021 insurrection has resulted in a long list of federal prosecutions — some on felony charges, some on misdemeanor charges.
Business Insider’s C. Ryan Barber reports, “Reffitt's trial presented an opportunity for the Justice Department to secure a conviction that would send a message to other accused Capitol rioters planning to go before a jury rather than plead guilty. For prosecutors, a loss in court could have sent the opposite message — and emboldened accused Capitol rioters. But federal prosecutors never seemed in doubt about the outcome.”