A federal judge declined to apply the harsher sentencing guidelines allowed under federal law in the case of a January 6 defendant. The judge said applying the enhancement to Reffitt would create an "unwarranted sentencing disparity" with other cases. Friedrich pointed out that the most severe sentences handed down in Jan. 6 cases thus far were a little more than five years. The government wants a sentence that is three times as long as the other defendants and the one who didn't assault the officer. Reffitt, a member of the Texas Three Percenters militia, was the first person to go before a jury on January 6. He brought two rifles and a pistol with him to Washington the day before the riot. He had a pistol on his hip as he was engaged in a standoff with police at the Capitol. Reffitt was hit with weapons and tear gas as he tried to advance up the steps, but he never entered the building. Friedrich had yet to announce a sentence during the sentencing hearing. Under federal guidelines, defendants are typically sentenced to terms well below the maximum. The discussions Reffitt had before and after January 6 made it clear that he was going to drag Pelosi and McConnell out of the Capitol building. Reffitt was recorded saying that he wanted to listen to the lawmaker's head bouncing down the Capitol steps. He was going to take over the government. "He wasn't just trying to stop the certification He wasn't finished. The 6th was just a beginning. Mr Reffitt is in a class alone.
Friedrich said prosecutors wanted shorter sentences for people who were involved in violence against police.
"You're making recommendations that are way different than you're making in this case," said the judge.
Friedrich was worried that Reffitt would be punished if he decided to go to trial instead of pleading guilty.
She said that his decision to go to trial should not result in a harsher sentence.
Reffitt was found guilty of having a handgun on his hip while on the Capitol grounds, which Friedrich conceded was an important distinction from the other cases to reach sentencing.
Does the firearm deserve three times the sentence if it wasn't used in any way?
Reffitt was found guilty of threatening to hurt his two children if they talked to authorities about his actions. During Monday's hearing, one of those children, Peyton Reffitt, spoke to ask for a reduction in her father's sentence. She said that Trump was more to blame for the events than her father was.
"My father's name wasn't on the flags that people were carrying that day." The leader was not him.
Friedrich suggested that Reffitt suffered from delusions of grandeur and that his decision to go to trial earlier this year was part of his effort to posture as a leader of those fighting the certification of the election.
The judge said that he wanted to be the first to go to trial. That's what he wants.
At times, Reffitt was at the center of the crowd on the West Front of the Capitol. The defense attorney argued that the angry crowd was determined to get to the building if Reffitt waved them on.
The people would have gone up the stairs regardless of Mr. Reffitt.
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