- An accused Capitol rioter's son was called to testify against him at the first trial related to January 6.
- Guy Reffitt's son acknowledged feeling "gross" reporting his father to the FBI and later recording him secretly.
- Reffitt is accused of threatening his son to stay quiet about his role in the Capitol attack.
In December 2020, Jackson Reffitt was growing alarmed about what he was hearing from his father.
It was Christmas Eve, and his father, Guy Reffitt, was talking politics on a family text thread. The elder Reffitt was railing against the "legislative branch," and his anger only seemed to build with each message.
"Too many lives have been crossed. Too many years this happened. We are about to rise up the way the Constitution was written," Guy Reffitt wrote.
That day, in his bedroom in Wylie, Texas, Jackson Reffitt contacted the FBI, he said.
"I decided to alleviate some anxieties off my shoulder," Jackson Reffitt said Thursday, recalling that he felt "paranoid" about what his father might do.
Two weeks later, on January 6, 2021, Jackson Reffitt would learn that his father had traveled to Washington, DC, and joined in the pro-Trump mob that stormed the Capitol.
On Thursday, Guy Reffitt cried as his son appeared across a courtroom to testify against him in Washington, DC, where the elder Reffitt is the first accused Capitol rioter to stand trial on charges connected to the January 6 attack.
Wearing a dark suit, with long hair extending past his shoulders, Jackson Reffitt, 19, was soft-spoken but poised as he recalled his report to the FBI in late 2020. He described how he later recorded his father's exuberant retelling of his involvement in the January 6 attack.
Guy Reffitt faces charges that he obstructed an official proceeding, unlawfully entered the Capitol grounds with a gun, and later obstructed justice by threatening Jackson Reffitt and his sister to keep them from reporting his alleged actions to law enforcement.
Jackson Reffitt's court appearance followed the testimony of a former Capitol police officer, a Capitol police inspector, and an FBI agent who examined the elder Reffitt's phone.
In the most dramatic testimony of the trial to date, Jackson Reffitt recounted a conversation after January 6 in which his father told him that he and his sister would be traitors if they turned him into law enforcement — and that "traitors get shot."
"I was pretty grossed out hearing my father say that," Jackson Reffitt testified Thursday.
Later, as his sister looked at his phone, Guy Reffitt threatened to shoot a hole in the phone if she was recording him.
Recalling the episode, Jackson Reffitt said his sister "gasped" and "denied she would do that." Jackson Reffitt said he then met with the FBI, and felt "guilty," "terrified," and "gross."
After his family learned of his cooperation with the FBI through a CNN interview, he moved out of the house, Jackson Reffitt said. His contact with his family has been limited since, he said.
"It's difficult. It's surreal," he testified Thursday. He acknowledged that other families are going through similar ordeals in the aftermath of January 6.
Through a GoFundMe fundraising effort, Jackson Reffitt said he received $150,000 to support him.
On Thursday, assistant US attorney Risa Berkower asked whether he reported his father to the FBI to become famous.
"No," he said.
Was it to get money through GoFundMe?
"No," he said.
Asked why he went to the FBI, Jackson Reffitt answered, "Because I was scared."
"I think this is the best case scenario," he said.
Jackson Reffitt said he was "pretty nervous" when he submitted a tip to the FBI about his father.
For prosecutors, Jackson Reffitt's testimony was a linchpin connecting the various charges. The courtroom questioning featured not only text messages but photographs — all shown to jurors — showing the family's home outside Dallas, Texas, and the handgun prosecutors have accused Reffitt of bringing to the Capitol on January 6.
Prosecutors have alleged that Guy Reffitt's gun was holstered on his hip during the Capitol attack, and they have pointed to text messages as showing that he planned his alleged conduct in advance of January 6.
And his son was on the receiving end of a threat to stay quiet about his involvement in the January 6 insurrection, the Justice Department said.
Following the January 6 attack, Guy Reffitt boasted about his involvement, prosecutors said. Jackson Reffitt testified that his father texted a link to a Fox News segment showing him outside the Capitol in a blue coat.
When Guy Reffitt returned to Texas, his son secretly recorded him as he recounted his involvement in the Capitol siege. Echoing what he'd said about reporting his father to the FBI, Jackson Reffitt said Thursday he felt "pretty gross" recording his father surreptitiously.
Jurors heard the recording, in which Guy Reffitt said he "felt patriotic," "felt like such an American," and had a "great time" on January 6.
"He was proud," Jackson Reffitt said Thursday, describing his father's mood. "Ecstatic."