Guy Reffitt, a Texas militia member who was at the head of an early wave of rioters who storming the Capitol in January of 2021, was found guilty of all five felony charges he faced.
The first jury trial since the attack that threatened the presidential transfer of power is an important milestone for the Justice Department.
Friedrich's sentencing will be on June 8. He faces a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison, but will likely get less than that according to federal sentencing guidelines. He will get credit for spending more than a year in jail.
After only three hours of deliberations, the jury returned a unanimous verdict in the trial that featured graphic video and testimony of the pro-Trump mob that Reffitt joined. While the mob tore through the scaffolding for the inauguration of Joe Biden, his lengthy standoff with several officers wielding non-lethal weapons helped divert focus.
When the mob got inside the building, overwhelmed police officers were forced to retreat and make a desperate attempt to prevent the mob from reaching lawmakers as they counted electoral votes.
One juror told POLITICO that the jury was thorough and didn't need much time due to the strength of the government's case.
Michael Gray, a manager of information technology projects, said that they went through everything and decided whether the government had proved its case or not. We believed that the government had enough evidence to convict Mr. Reffitt on all five counts.
The recordings of Reffitt threatening to drag Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other lawmakers from the Capitol were some of the most devastating evidence against him.
The Reffitt trial is the first of many. More than 800 people have been charged for conduct connected to the Capitol breach, and more than 200 of them have pleaded guilty to crimes ranging from seditious conspiracy and obstruction to simple trespassing and parading in a restricted area.
Due to Covid restrictions, the verdicts were read to a sparse courtroom. Reffitt appeared unaffected when the verdict was announced. Nicole Reffitt entered the courtroom after the fact when the verdict was read.
The Justice Department characterized its investigation of the January attack as the most complex in U.S. history.
Most January 6 defendants are unlikely to go to trial, and Reffitt's decision in the face of overwhelming video and testimonials ended up backfiring. His defense lawyer asked few questions of the prosecution witnesses and didn't call any of them. He asked the jury to convict Reffitt on one of the lesser charges he faced, and to raise doubts about whether the prosecution had proven its more serious claims.
Reffitt's defense was generally found to be flimsy by the jurors.
It wasn't just noticeable. It was glaring. He didn't have a defense at all.
Nicole spoke to reporters outside the courthouse.
The verdict today is against all Americans. All Americans should be careful if they are convicted of violating their First Amendment rights. She said that the fight had just begun.
Nicole Reffitt said that others charged in the January 6 riot should resist the temptation to cut a deal with prosecutors.
Don't take a plea. Don't plead. They want us to speak up. The reason we have all guilty verdicts is that they are making a point. Nicole Reffitt said not to take a plea One-Sixers. Do not let us get this.
Two star witnesses helped prosecutors make their case. Jackson reported his father to the FBI and later recorded conversations that he provided to the FBI. Jackson said his father threatened to shoot him and his sister if they went to authorities with their concerns.
The Texas Three Percenters traveled with Reffitt to Washington in order to attend Donald Trump's rally. They discussed bringing multiple firearms to Washington, as well as Reffitt's call to drag members of Congress out of the Capitol.
Capitol Police officers testified that they were overwhelmed by the angry crowd on January 6.
Reffitt was implicated by the police testimony because they said he was at the forefront of a large group of protesters who were surging up a stairway on the west front of the Capitol. They recalled him taunting them with cries of "traitor" and warning that the police couldn't stop the crowd.
The officers used pepper balls and non-lethal rounds from air guns to repel Reffitt. One officer was doused with tear gas, which took him out of commission. Reffitt gestured to the rest of the crowd to charge up the steps as he nursed his stinging eyes on the Capitol banister.
Reffitt's defense said that he never touched any officers or entered the Capitol building. He doesn't face any charges from the standoff with police. He faces two counts of civil disorder, which relate to interfering with police during civil unrest.
While the officers pushed back on Reffitt, the mob grew angry and threw objects at each other. Reffitt's confrontation helped the mob adapt their tactics, once they realized the police were trying to keep them out. The officers testified that they were wary of using their firearms because of the large crowd and the fact that many of the mob members were carrying weapons.
Reffitt is one of the few people charged with carrying a gun on Capitol grounds. Prosecutors showed jurors a video in which a holster-like object can be seen on Reffitt's belt, along with a silver glint that they say reflected a handgun. Reffitt himself was seen on video and in recordings provided by his son, who said that many others in the crowd were also armed.
Reffitt's daughter was also expected to be a government witness, but she didn't think her father was serious. Prosecutors dropped plans to call her. The defense could have called her.
As Nicole Reffitt emerged from court Tuesday, she was by her side. The daughter declined to speak to reporters after the verdict, but said she would address the issue in the future.
The prosecution's tactics were denounced by her mother.
Cara Castronuova is an activist who has organized support for the defendants.
Do you think you provided an adequate defense for the family? Castronuova pointed a camera and microphone at the man as he left the court.
Nicole Reffitt was not unhappy with the approach to the case.
She said that William did what he needed to do.
After the verdicts Tuesday, prosecutors did not comment. There were no quotes from officials about the outcome of the case in the Justice Department press release.
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