The 49-year-old was the first accused to appear in court for the riots. As a member of a militia, he came armed to the Capitol to incite violence, says a prosecutor.
A Texas man has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison for his role in the attack on the US Capitol. A federal court in Washington sentenced 49-year-old Guy Wesley Refitt to 87 months in prison for resisting law enforcement, obstructing justice and other crimes. According to the evidence, Refitt was a member of the Texas Three Percenters militia. Among other things, he sent messages to other members of the group to recruit them for the trip to Washington on January 6, 2021.
Congress met there at the time to certify the election victory of President Donald Trump’s Democratic challenger Joe Biden in the previous presidential election. Trump supporters violently stormed the seat of parliament in the capital Washington that day.
Five people were killed in the riots, including a police officer. Trump had recently incited his supporters at a rally by claiming that his election victory had been stolen. Since January 6, 2021, more than 850 people have been arrested in connection with the Capitol storm, according to the US Department of Justice.
Refitt was the first defendant to stand trial for the storming of the Capitol. A jury had already found him guilty on March 8, including penetrating a protected area with a weapon. “Guy Reffitt came to the Capitol on January 6 armed and intent on inciting violence,” said Washington Federal District Attorney Matthew Graves. “In his own words, his goal was to take the Capitol ‘before the day ends’https://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/.”