Guy Wesley Reffitt is the first Jan. 6 defendant to have his case heard by a jury. The outcome of the trial could determine whether 100s of other people charged for their roles in what transpired that day will seek to enter into plea deals with the gov.
WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors on Wednesday kicked off the first jury trial stemming from the Jan. 6, 2021, riot by portraying the defendant, Guy Wesley Reffitt,“The defendant was the tip of this mob’s spear,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nestler told jurors. “He lit the match that started the fire.”
In opening statements Wednesday, Nestler previewed how prosecutors plan to use Reffitt’s own words against him — including text messages he allegedly sent and statements he made before, during and after Jan. 6, 2021. They prove, Nestler said, that Reffitt “wanted to stop Congress from doing its job” of certifying that Joe Biden had defeated then-President Donald Trump in the 2020 election and positioned himself at the front of the angry mob that ultimately breached the Capitol.
Reffitt’s defense attorney, William Welch, followed the prosecution’s roughly 30-minute opening remarks with a conspicuously brief rebuttal that clocked in at around three minutes. Welch emphasized that his client “did not go in the Capitol” and claimed that Reffitt “was not armed” and that he “never assaulted anyone.” If Reffitt is guilty of anything, Welch argued, it is hyperbole.
Reffitt is the first Jan. 6 defendant to have his case heard by a jury. The outcome of the trial could determine whether hundreds of other people charged for their roles in what transpired that day will seek to enter into plea deals with the government. “It appeared he was leading the crowd up the steps,” Kerkhoff said as she narrated video footage from outside the Capitol, identifying Reffitt wearing a blue coat and black tactical helmet and wielding a megaphone at the front of an “angry and violent” mob. “Every time he took a step, they took a step,” she said.
During cross-examination, Welch repeatedly asked Kerkhoff whether she’d seen Reffitt among the hundreds of other rioters who entered the Capitol that day. She said she had not.The opening statements and initial witness testimony heard Wednesday followed two full days of jury selection, whichinvolved in prosecuting Jan. 6 cases in the nation’s capital.
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