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Inset: Jan. rioter Guy Reffitt (Department of Justice). Background: Jackson Reffitt speaking about the pardon of his dad Guy Reffitt, who was the first Jan. 6 defendant to be tried (ABC News/YouTube).
Jan. 6 rioter Guy Reffitt, the first defendant tried for the Capitol attack, has been ordered to stay away from his adult son — who turned him into federal law enforcement and is now the target of online threats — after being pardoned by President Donald Trump last week, court documents show.
Jackson Reffitt, who is from Texas, has spoken to multiple media outlets this month about being “terrified” of his dad coming home and retaliating against him after he got a pardon from Trump on the president’s first day in office.
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“Of course I fear that,” Jackson Reffitt told Scripps News following his dad’s pardon. “I don’t know if it’s going to happen, but you know, I have that strict paranoia.”
The 22-year-old tipped off his father to federal law enforcement after the U.S. Capitol riot and was reportedly fearful of his political views and alleged connections to members of far-right militia groups, including Stewart Rhodes — the now-pardoned leader of the Oath Keepers, with whom Guy Reffitt has been photographed. Jackson Reffitt says he told the FBI ahead of Jan. 6 that he thought his dad would do something extreme at the Capitol or in Washington, D.C., in response to the 2020 presidential election and Joe Biden’s win over Trump.
As Law&Crime previously reported, Guy Reffitt allegedly threatened his family members in the days following the insurrection.
“If you turn me in, you’re a traitor and you know what happens to traitors…traitors get shot,” Guy Reffitt allegedly told his children.”
Guy Reffitt was convicted in March 2022 of obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress — a charge that was subsequently deemed inapplicable to Jan. 6 prosecutions — and of bringing a gun to the Capitol. He was sentenced in August 2022 by U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, a Trump appointee, to seven years behind bars.
“In the defendant’s own words, he lit the match that started the fire,” a prosecutor told jurors of Guy Reffitt at his trial.
After Guy Reffitt’s arrest, Jackson Reffitt says he was bombarded with threats and online posts that forced him to move multiple times and buy a firearm for his safety.
“Clearly, he’s gotten more and more radicalized and justified and validated himself, which is just terrifying to see,” Jackson Reffitt told Scripps about his father. “I think now, we all know what it has led to and what has already happened in the past couple of days. You know, these people are galvanized and ready.”
On Tuesday, federal prosecutors agreed to scrap a motion to detain Guy Reffitt on a separate firearms charge in Texas after he was caught with an unregistered suppressor. An order was issued setting the conditions of Reffitt’s release, which included staying away from his son, according to the document.
“The defendant must avoid all contact, directly or indirectly, with any person who is or may be a victim or witness in the investigation or prosecution, including Jackson Reffitt,” the order says.
More from Law&Crime: Armed Jan. 6 rioter shot to death by police while resisting arrest days after Trump pardon
Asked last week how he reacted to his father being pardoned, Jackson Reffitt said he was “sitting there melting into (his) couch” that day.
“Just focusing, hyper-fixating on it,” he told Scripps. “That was my reaction … just, you know, pure paranoia of what’s going to happen.”
In addition to being ordered to stay away from his son, Guy Reffitt “must get medical or psychiatric treatment,” which includes participating in a “mental health assessment and/or a treatment program until discharged, as arranged by the probation officer,” according to his release conditions. He must “follow the rules and regulations of that program” and his probation officer will supervise and keep a record of his participation.
