US federal judge hands down longest sentence for Capitol riot to former militia member News
Tyler Merbler from USA, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
US federal judge hands down longest sentence for Capitol riot to former militia member

Former Three Percenters militia member Guy Reffitt was Monday sentenced to 87 months in prison for leading a mob of rioters towards the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 while carrying a handgun. The sentence is less than half of the 15-year prison term that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) asked for. Reffitt’s prison sentence is still the longest one handed down to any January 6 Capitol riot defendant.

The sentence came after a charged six-hour hearing where Reffitt claimed his past statements defending his actions on January 6 were aimed at securing funding from sympathizers and that he never heard about a plea offer that would have resulted in a shorter sentence. District Judge Dabney Friedrich said that she was giving some weight to Reffitt’s apology but rejected his claim that he was not told of the plea offer.

Friedrich also rejected a government motion to apply a domestic terrorism enhancement to Reffitt’s sentence since the DOJ did not request the same enhancement for January 6 defendants who assaulted police.

Reffitt’s sentencing has garnered significant attention since he threatened to shoot Jackson, his son, if Jackson turned him in to the FBI. Jackson Reffitt testified at his father’s sentencing hearing and requested that mental health treatment be a part of the sentence, which Friedrich then ordered. In March, Jackson wrote, “My father could have possibly been home by now getting mental help if he took a plea deal.”

Reffitt was caught on video before the riot, saying that he wanted to take the Capitol and to see House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s “head hit every [f-ing] stair.” He was also recorded during a Zoom meeting, describing how he led a group of rioters towards a line of Capitol police and was then hit with bear spray and less-lethal munitions. Reffitt never entered the building.

The 87-month sentence beats the next-longest for a January 6 defendant by two years. On July 26, Mark Ponder was handed a 63-month sentence for assaulting three Capitol police officers during the riot, the same prison term that Robert Scott Palmer, who assaulted police with a plank and a fire extinguisher, was sentenced to.

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