Faruqui’s decision culminated in a bizarre hearing in an equally extraordinary case. Reffitt was reported to the FBI by his son, Jackson, a week before the January 6 uprising, and an unidentified family member also secretly recorded several conversations after his return from Washington.
In addition, Reffitt told his son and daughter that if they turned him over to the FBI, they would be traitors and “traitors would be shot.”
Jackson Reffitt told the FBI that he feared his father could hurt him, and he has since moved to an “undisclosed location,” according to prosecutors.
In addition, prosecutors revealed encrypted communications that show Reffitt discussing his ability to obtain police firearms and use them to “retake our country” in future actions directed at media outlets and social media companies.
But it was the appearance of Reffitt’s daughter, Peyton, led into the room by his wife, Nicole, during a two-hour hearing via Zoom on Monday – one of the few Capitol-related hearings to present testimony from witnesses live – that put the matter aside. The audience illuminated a family torn apart by the rebellion and its aftermath, and showed the personal tribute that the insurrection participants caused to their loved ones and communities.
Jackson, who reported his father to the FBI around Christmas, has since given national interviews and publicly defended his decision on social media. Peyton, in his testimony, said that he was simply not so close to his father and did not understand what his words meant.
“Absolutely not,” she said repeatedly when asked if she thought her father would hurt her or her brother.
Peyton recalled the conversation in which her father said “traitors are shot,” but she said she never saw the comment as a genuine threat. Instead, she said, her father used to say things that “push the limits” and get involved in exaggeration, but he would never hurt the family.
“I was not afraid,” she said. “It was just, I think, annoying in a way. He says things that push the boundaries all the time. I didn’t feel threatened in the least. “
Peyton’s boyfriend, who witnessed the exchange and sometimes stays at the Reffitts’ house, also testified to this characterization.
The exchanges were strange. Reffitt’s wife and daughter struggled with the mute button, connection problems and general unfamiliarity with the process – although Peyton emphasized how many documents she read in preparation and noted that she testified to a grand jury about her father’s case.
Prosecutors tried to gently separate her testimony. Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Nestler noted that although Peyton and her boyfriend may not have felt threatened, Jackson, who had previously reported his father to the FBI, was exclusively subject to his father’s threatening language.
The family seemed taken aback by Faruqui’s conciliatory decision, bursting into sobs – mute button officially off – as they processed the news.
“Unfortunately, I believe that detention is appropriate here. It is not an easy thing for me to say. …
My heart is broken, ”said Faruqui. “I see your family in pain … but the law dictates that I have to look at the facts.”
The judge, recognizing the uncomfortable nature of the hearing and particularly the outcome, was extremely helpful to Reffitt’s wife and daughter.
“I admire your daughter’s wisdom that people can have divergent political views and we still have to be a family,” said Faruqui, pausing to apply the same belief to the “American family”.
“This was not an easy decision,” Faruqui insisted on one point, although he later said that he had “great concern” about the danger posed by Guy Reffitt and that the defendant was in a “different category” from most other disorders. of Capitol Hill suspects.
Faruqui also tried to break the tension with a few jokes. After Nestler asked Peyton’s boyfriend about their relationship, the judge said he was impressed by his father’s kind words.
“Always be nice to your daughter’s boyfriend. I’ll remember that, ”said Faruqui.
Faruqui said he was particularly concerned by the government’s allegations, based on Reffitt’s alleged bragging rights, that he brought two firearms to Washington and took one to the riot in the Capitol building.
“This shows me a premeditation that he came with the intention of fighting,” said the judge. “This is someone who came armed and ready for battle.”
Reffitt is accused of two crimes: obstructing an official lawsuit and obstructing justice for threatening his children, as well as a misdemeanor for entering land protected by the Secret Service without authority. Prosecutors say he premeditated a plan to attack the Capitol, crossed the country to execute it and – although he was not charged with any crime of violence – returned to Texas with a plan to commit other violent acts.
Prosecutors identified Reffitt as a leader of the Three Percent, a group that believes the U.S. government is similar to British oppressors and that a small minority of armed militias can forcibly withdraw him. Telegram messages between Reffitt and potential recruits for his group were part of the government’s case.
Despite prosecutors’ claim that Reffitt took a gun to the Capitol grounds, the current charge does not accuse him of having a gun there.
Reffitt is one of several Capitol riot defendants who appear to have spent many weeks in transit to Washington from the place of his arrest and the first court appearances. Welch noted on Monday that Reffitt was arrested almost two months ago. The defense lawyer also said that his client spent three days during that period in a hospital’s intensive care unit because the authorities did not provide him with the necessary drugs.