United States: Guy Wesley Refitt, the first defendant to go to trial in the Justice Department's comprehensive criminal investigation into the January 6 attack, was sentenced on Monday to more than seven years in prison. This is the longest sentence ever in the case arising out of the Capital riots.
Judge Dabney Frederick handed down the sentence after a six-hour hearing, at the low end of the guideline limit. She pointed out that the sentence was still much longer than any given to any of the more than 800 people detained in connection with the riots, many of whom have entered into plea agreements up to this point.
After adding to the increase in punishment used in domestic terrorism cases, prosecutors requested that Refit receive 15 years in prison. However, Frederick rejected those terms and instead sentenced him to seven years and three months in prison with three years' probation, plus a $2,000 fine and a requirement that he receive mental health treatment.
In March, a jury found Refit guilty of five felony counts, including two counts of civil disorder and obstruction of Congress' ability to attest to the results of the 2020 presidential election. Refit did not enter the building like other intruders.
The Justice Department is beginning the lengthy process of prosecuting dozens of rioters, so the conviction marks the conclusion of a trial that was seen as an important test for them. Prosecutors and defense attorneys were particularly interested in how barrier charges, a rarely used count that is important for many cases that have not yet gone to trial, would fare in court.
However, Frederick described Refit's situation as unusual in light of the threats made against his children, when he realized that he might be included in a federal investigation into the riot. Refitt's son, Jackson Refitt, testified in court in March that his father had become radicalized in the months before the attack and had threatened to keep quiet about the incident, telling him and his sister that "the traitors were shot." is killed."
Before Monday, the longest sentence in a case related to the Capitol attack was just over five years, handed down last year to a man who admitted to assaulting a police officer with a fire extinguisher. However, Frederick claimed that Refit's sentence was two years longer if he had accepted a plea agreement, as he would have been at trial rather than entering into a plea agreement like hundreds of others arrested in connection with the attack. used to go.
House was sentenced as of 6 January. The committee's parallel inquiry had begun to gain steam. Speculation about how the Justice Department will react to the committee's findings regarding former President Donald Trump and those in his inner circle, as well as whether the committee will formally recommend criminal charges, led courts to gradually process hundreds. As cases related to riots have increased
Refit apologized for his actions on Monday after initially seeming reluctant to address the court. She was wearing an orange jumpsuit and pulled her hair into a thin ponytail.
I definitely wanted to apologize, he said. I was a little crazy in 2020, and everything was a little silly.
He issued politically charged statements that "doubled down" on his claims and a "manifesto" that he directed over the phone to his family awaiting sentencing in prison, so Frederick said that while he appreciated his sentiment, So he questioned his honesty.
Refitt acknowledged that he often used "hyperbole", but insisted that any inflammatory statements he made were in an attempt to raise money for his family.
Refitt joined the Texas Three Centuries, a loosely coordinated militia movement in the months leading up to and after the 2020 election, and he sent other members to Washington, D.C. on January 6.
While he was on probation he was given a prohibition by Frederick not to speak to any three cent or other militia members as part of his sentence.
Frederick made sure to emphasize in his closing remarks that even though Refit's actions were not as violent as those of many others who attacked police officers on January 6, they still put hundreds of people in danger. Gave.
In prison statements, Refitt repeatedly referred to himself and other rioters who called the Capitol "patriots", but Frederick referred to his actions as "anti-patriotic".
Besides not being a patriot, She said, "they are a direct threat to our democracy and will be dealt with."
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