An accused Capitol rioter threatened to kill his children if they turned him in, FBI says
- Guy Reffitt, of Wylie, Texas, was arrested by the FBI on Sunday in connection to the January 6 US Capitol riot.
- According to a charging affidavit, Reffitt threatened to kill his children if they told the FBI he had taken part in the riot.
- Video from the insurrection cited by the FBI shows Reffitt standing on the US Capitol's steps as rioters who support President Donald Trump stormed the building.
A Texas man charged in the Capitol insurrection threatened to kill his children if they told the FBI he had taken part in the riot, according to court documents.
Guy Reffitt, who the FBI says is part of a far-right extremist group called "Texas Freedom Force," was arrested on Sunday and charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and obstruction of justice.
The FBI said in a charging affidavit that Reffitt, a 48-year-old oil worker from Wylie, Texas, first bragged about his trip to Washington, DC, to his family, saying he had filmed the riot on a GoPro-style camera.
Upon learning of the FBI's investigation into the insurrection, Reffitt threatened to shoot his children if they turned him in to authorities, the affidavit said.
His wife told the FBI that Reffitt told his son and daughter: "If you turn me in, you're a traitor and you know what happens to traitors … traitors get shot."
He separately told his daughter he'd "put a bullet" through her phone if she posted about him on social media, according to the affidavit.
But Reffitt's family did end up speaking to the FBI, the affidavit said, and days later, agents arrived at Reffitt's door with a search warrant.
Reffitt later told FBI agents that he was in Washington, DC, the day of the insurrection, but did not go inside the building.
He also said he brought Smith and Wesson pistol to Washington, DC, but had disassembled it to comply with gun laws.
Video cited by the FBI shows Reffitt standing on a staircase outside the Capitol building wearing a helmet and appearing to use a water bottle to flush out his eyes.
Reffitt is among about 100 people who have been charged so far in connection to the Capitol riot, which was carried out by supporters of President Donald Trump as Congress debated Electoral College votes from the 2020 election, which was won by President-elect Joe Biden.
Five people died in the riot, including a Capitol Police officer.
- Read more:
- What we know about the laptop that was stolen from Nancy Pelosi's aide during the Capitol siege
- James Comey says the GOP needs to be 'burned down or changed,' calling the pro-Trump riot at the Capitol 'our own Chernobyl'
- Trump is starting his last full day in office hiding from the public and plotting to steal Biden's thunder, as his approval ratings plummet to historic lows
- The man accused of breaking the window Ashli Babbitt tried to climb through when she was shot during the Capitol insurrection has been arrested