- Guy Reffitt is awaiting trial in jail after his son turned him into the FBI after the
Capitol riot . - His 19-year-old son, Jackson, told Vice News he fears his dad is radicalizing more in jail.
A college student who turned his father into the FBI after the Capitol riot told Vice News' David Gilbert he fears his dad is becoming more radicalized in jail.
Guy Reffitt, a Texas man and member of the far-right Three Percenters group, was arrested at his home on January 19, 2021, after his son, Jackson, tipped off the FBI.
According to court documents, the elder Reffitt was charged with five counts, including possession of a semi-automatic weapon on Capitol grounds. He has pleaded not guilty and is currently awaiting trial with dozens of other Capitol riot defendants at the Central Detention Facility in Washington, DC.
People housed in that jail face the most serious charges relating to the insurrection. As Insider previously reported, they have in recent months bonded by organizing group activities, singing the national anthem every night, and writing newsletters.
Some extremism experts have warned that those activities could leave some of the defendants more radicalized than before, Vice News previously reported.
In a letter from jail published by ProPublica last May, Reffitt said he had bonded with the other defendants and was not remorseful about what happened on
Jackson told Vice News of the letter: "It was pretty disgusting to read that. I mean like it's psycho stuff."
"Honestly, it made me feel worse about my decision, only because I feel like I pushed him in a more extreme direction. I made him more enthusiastic about what he's done."
In a separate interview with ABC News, Jackson said he turned his father into the FBI in December after becoming increasingly concerned by his father's seemingly radicalized rhetoric.
"If something is to really happen, then I do not want this on my shoulders as the only one that actually sees what he's doing right now," Jackson told ABC News.
Upon returning from Washington, DC, Reffitt started to threaten his children and told Jackson that he would "do what he had to do" if he were reported to law enforcement, an affidavit said. He was arrested days later.
Since then, the 19-year-old has fallen out with his two sisters and mother, and moved out of the family home, Vice News reported.
"I also bear the guilt of pretty much tearing this family apart and it sucks but I can't do much about it," he told ABC News.
In a phone interview from jail, Reffitt told ABC News that he hopes to have a relationship with his son someday.
"That's my son. I love my son. I will always love my son," Reffitt told ABC News.