(Bloomberg) -- Texas teenager Jackson Reffitt, a self-described liberal, told a federal jury how he secretly recorded his militia-member father bragging at the kitchen table about his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Guy Reffitt, the first person to go on trial over the insurrection, admitted in the conversation with his wife and children that he'd carried a gun onto the Capitol grounds and personally confronted frantic police officers before they were overrun by the mob, his son testified Thursday in Washington.
“He was proud and ecstatic,” Jackson Reffitt said, adding that his father had hinted at more violence to come. “To hear my father say that is just scary.”
The trial is a bellwether for others scheduled to take place later this year, including two group trials involving militia members who are accused of conspiracy and sedition for trying to forcibly stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden's presidential election victory over Donald Trump. More than 700 people have been charged, and about 200 have pleaded guilty.
The recording, made on Jackson Reffitt's mobile phone, was played for the jury on the second day of the trial in which he is the government's star witness. The 19-year-old said he felt justified making the recording because his father broke the law and he wanted to make sure there was hard evidence.
“I felt pretty gross, and I felt pretty uncomfortable for even thinking about doing something like this,” he said under questioning by a prosecutor. “But I knew it would help immensely by proving that he is saying this.”
Guy Reffitt, a member of the far-right Three Percenters militia, is accused of leading a mob up the stairs of the Capitol's terrace.
In the recording, Guy Reffitt said he was prevented from entering the Capitol because he was doused with pepper spray. He bragged that his actions encouraged the mob behind him to confront the police more forcefully. He said many in the crowd were armed like he was.
“I didn't make it in, but I started the fire,” he said in the recording. “I felt so patriotic and felt like such an American.”
The testimony took a darker turn when Jackson Reffitt described how his father threatened him and his sister several days later, as it became apparent that law enforcement was hunting down rioters. He knew they disagreed with his politics and became rightfully paranoid, the teenager said.
“If you turn me in you're a traitor and traitors get shot,” Jackson Reffitt said his father told him and his sister. “We were flabbergasted and confused and I was pretty grossed out hearing my father say that to me and pretty worried about my sister.”
Jackson Reffitt met with a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent on Jan. 11, 2021, and handed over the recording as well as screen shots of text messages in which his father explains his plan for Jan. 6.
On cross-examination, Guy Reffitt's lawyer suggested that his client had been exaggerating in the recorded conversation because he'd been drinking and taking Xanax.
Earlier in the day, the jury heard evidence from FBI Special Agent Stacy Shahrani, who conducted the examination of Reffitt's iPhone and other devices. She took the jury through a series of text messages and Telegram chats before the riot in which Guy Reffitt condemns lawmakers and brags that he'll be armed and outfitted in combat gear during the assault.
“What's about to happen will shock the world,” Reffitt said in one of the messages to an unidentified associate on Dec. 24, 2020. “They all must go.”
Insurrection? Sedition? Incitement? A D.C. Riot Guide: QuickTake
One video recording from Reffitt's helmet-mounted camera captured him in the mob on Jan. 6 explaining his plan to drag House Speaker Nancy Pelosi out of the building “by her ankles.” The recording backed up what prosecutors told the jury yesterday in their opening statement.
Reffitt's lawyer told the jury yesterday his client didn't hurt anyone, damage anything, steal anything or interfere with any arrests.
Not all of Reffitt's contacts appreciated his actions. A man on one of Reffitt's Telegram message chains blasted him for drawing attention to the Three Percenters, questioning his intelligence and using expletives.
“I just don't need detectives knocking on my door,” the man said.
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