Federal prosecutors in Washington D.C. want a Texas man convicted in March of carrying a firearm in furtherance of civil disorder at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to serve 15 years in prison, more than suggested in federal sentencing guidelines.
Guy Wesley Reffitt, 49, of Wylie, Texas, was convicted on all five counts by a jury that spent two hours deliberating his fate on March 8. Other charges included obstruction of an official proceeding, entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a firearm, obstructing officers during a civil disorder, and obstruction of justice.
In a 58-page sentencing memorandum filed in U.S. District Court on July 15, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nestler argued that Reffitt should receive a harsher prison sentence under a sentencing guideline related to terrorism.
Reffitt will be sentenced Aug. 1 in U.S. District Court in Washington D.C.
Although Reffitt was not charged with or convicted of terrorism, he deserves the upward departure in sentence because his Jan. 6 crime “was calculated to influence or affect the conduct of government by intimidation or coercion,” Nestler wrote.
Nestler said Reffitt deserves the enhanced sentence for his “central role in leading a mob that attacked the United States Capitol while our elected representatives met in a solemn Joint Session of Congress—including his intention to use his gun and police-style flexicuffs to forcibly drag legislators out of the building and take over Congress….”
Reffitt’s wife, Nicole Reffitt, told The Epoch Times it was “hard to process” the sentence recommendation, which she said is a danger to more than just her family.
“To think the government wants my husband and the father of my children held for such a time for committing no acts of violence, or property damage,” Nicole Reffitt said. “This is where we are, a DOJ that wants to scare and intimidate other Jan 6ers into taking a plea, or even pushing them to the point of no return, horrified what could happen to their families, their careers, all because they dared to protest what seemed to be a fraudulent election and a corrupt government.
“…The government has scared my family and other Jan. 6 families, and they continue to do so with this sentencing recommendation,” she said. “True tyranny is alive and thriving in the United States of America and it is not just towards my family. We are all in danger.”
