Accused Capitol rioter threatened his children with violence if they reported him to police: prosecutors
Guy Reffitt, of Wylie, Texas, faces five federal criminal charges, including bringing guns to the Capitol and using physical force and the threat of physical force against his children to stop them from providing information to investigators.
U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich held a pretrial hearing in the case on Friday. Reffitt is jailed in Washington awaiting trial. During the riot, police used pepper spray to halt Reffitt outside the Capitol.
Prosecutors have subpoenaed his son, daughter and wife.
The FBI said in a criminal complaint that Reffitt after the riot told his son that he would "do what he had to do" if the son reported him to police, which the son interpreted as a threat to his life. The complaint also said Reffitt threatened to "put a bullet through" his daughter's cellphone.
The 18-year-old son told the New York Times that Reffitt told him: "You're a traitor. And you know what happens to traitors. Traitors get shot."
Prosecutors have said Reffitt traveled to Washington with an
AR-15 rifle and a Smith & Wesson .40 caliber handgun. The complaint noted that his wife said Reffitt is a member of the "
Three Percenters" right-wing militia.