US

Capitol Rioter Who Threatened To Kill His Family Becomes First To Face Weapons Charges Under Riot Law

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An alleged Capitol rioter who threatened to kill his family if they turned him in is the first to face a weapons charge under federal riot laws, his indictment shows.

Guy Wesley Reffitt of Texas was arrested in January after his wife informed the FBI that he threatened to kill her and their kids if they turned him in. He pleaded not guilty to multiple charges in March, including obstructing an official proceeding, entering and remaining in a restricted building and obstructing justice via physical force or threats.

In his superseding indictment issued on Wednesday, Reffitt was handed the additional charge of having a firearm on his person while at the Capitol.

While at the Capitol “without lawful authority to do so, and during and in relation to the offense, [Reffitt] did use and carry a deadly and dangerous weapon and firearm, that is, a semi-automatic handgun,” the indictment states.

Prosecutors alleged in March that Reffitt said he brought his gun to the Capitol with him and had “every right to carry a weapon and take over the Congress.”

An affidavit released after Reffit’s January arrest alleged that he threatened to “put a bullet through” his daughter’s cellphone if she posted anything incriminating towards him on social media. It also alleged that he told his children they would be traitors if they turned him in.

“You’re a traitor and you know what happens to traitors… traitors get shot,” the affidavit alleges he told his family.

According to a Justice Department database of Capitol riot arrests, three other defendants have been charged with firearms offenses, but the charges have to do with unlawful possession of firearms and other weapons.

Officials have arrested hundreds since the deadly Jan. 6 attack, the DOJ database shows.