When the first trial over the Capitol attack begins on Monday, it will set the stage for prosecutors to do more than lay out details about how the defendant, Guy Wesley Refitt, tried to storm the building with a gun on his hip.
For the first time in a courtroom, they will present a broad picture of the violent chaos that erupted that day and attempt to convince jurors that Trump supporters, whom Mr. Reffit is accused of joining, have struck at the very heart of American democracy, violating the transfer of presidential power.
The trial, which will take place in Federal District Court in Washington and begin Monday morning with jury selection, may not be the most high-profile or the most important of the dozens of Capitol riot cases due this year.
But since he is the first to enter the courtroom, he is likely to set the tone for subsequent ones and serve as a kind of evidence base for the charges brought by the prosecutor’s office against hundreds of defendants. (More than 200 people have already pleaded guilty in cases related to the Capitol attack.)
At the heart of Mr. Reffitt’s case is the allegation that the defendant, an oil worker with alleged ties to the Texas militia, obstructed the proceedings of Congress on January 6, 2021, when the House and Senate held a joint session. to confirm the results of the 2020 elections. Prosecutors say he donned a bulletproof vest and a helmet with a video camera and stood “ahead of the pack” that attacked the Capitol.
The charge of obstruction — one of five charges brought against him — was used in place of other crimes such as sedition or rebellion in dozens of Capitol riots to describe the violation that occurred when the mob forced lawmakers to flee.
Enacted in 2002 under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to reduce corporate abuse, the impediment clause was originally intended to prohibit acts such as destroying documents or interfering with witness testimony in congressional investigations.
Several defense lawyers, including Mr. Refitt, have sought to have the charge dismissed, arguing that prosecutors have overreached and are trying to criminalize behavior that closely resembles a regular protest protected by the First Amendment.
But 10 federal judges, including Dabney L. Friedrich, who is overseeing Mr. Reffitt’s case, disagreed and allowed the prosecution to be used. Refitt’s trial will be the first time that a jury will decide whether a charge fits the crime, although Judge Friedrich has said that in an unusual move, she will drop the charge before it goes to the jury if the government can’t prove it right. .
In addition to such technical issues, the trial will feature a panorama of the violence in the Capitol.
Prosecutors said, for example, that they intended to prove their claim that “civil unrest” took place that day by showing jurors the “progress of the unrest” through a compilation of CCTV footage both outside and inside the building. Jurors are also expected to see clips from a 31-minute video Mr. Refitt recorded during the riot, as well as a clip of Vice President Mike Pence rushing down the stairs after the intruders broke into the building.
Three Capitol police officers must testify first-hand about their attempts to stop Mr. Refitt and others from breaching security by shooting pepperballs and spraying tear gas at the crowd. One of those officers, Shauni Kerhoff, is to be the first witness at the trial, prosecutors said.
Mr. Reffitt’s lawyer, William L. Welch III, has said little about the defense he intends to make, but his client openly denies accusations that he took part in any unseemly acts at the Capitol. IN letter received by ProPublica last springMr. Reffit wrote of the attack: “There was no rebellion, no conspiracy, no sinister plan, no reason to think otherwise.”
On Thursday, the J6 Patriot News Telegram channel posted a message purportedly written by Mr. Reffit discussing “the start of 1/6 trials of political prisoners.”
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Ivanka Trump. Trump’s eldest daughter, who was one of his senior advisers, is said to be in talks with a House committee about the possibility sits on an interview with a panel.
“I am ready to look down the barrel of tyranny to receive the bullet of freedom,” the message says.
The case is one of several that will present evidence of an American militia movement. Prosecutors say Mr. Reffitt was a member of the Texas Three Percent, one of several state chapters of a larger organization focused on gun rights and anti-government activities.
While the Three Percent may not be as well-known as other far-right groups such as the Proud Boys or the Oath Keepers, several alleged members of the movement have been charged in connection with the Capitol attack. including at least four from Southern California.
To prove Mr. Reffitt’s ties to the militia, prosecutors must call as a witness his fellow member of the 3%, who plans to testify under a immunity agreement with the government. They say the witness, known only by the initials RH, intends to tell the jury about the arrangements he made with Mr. Refit to travel to Washington, as well as the firearms and tactical equipment, including the assault rifle, that Mr. Refit brought with him. Drive.
Two members of Mr. Reffitt’s family – his son and daughter – are also expected to oppose him.
Prosecutors say the son, who was 18 at the time of the attack, will tell jurors that he and his 16-year-old sister spoke to their father when he returned from Washington after the riots and that Mr. Reffit threatened to shoot them if they complained. to the FBI about him.
In a previous court hearing, the daughter testified that Mr. Reffit threatened to put a bullet in her mobile phone if she posted about him on social media.