Almost four years to the day since his father was taken into custody for his role in January 6 riot at the CapitolJackson Reffitt watched in complete shock as President Donald Trump signed an executive order that pardoned and commuted sentences for his father and some 1,500 other insurgents.
Reffitt has spent most of the last four years in hiding, constantly on the move every few months. It was the person who notified the FBI about his father’s involvement in the insurrection. Jackson’s father, Guy Reffitt, was a member of the Texas Three Percenter group when he stormed the Capitol wearing a bulletproof vest and carrying a pistol and zip ties. He was filmed urging other rioters to storm the Capitol building and told members of his militia that he intended to drag House Speaker Nancy Pelosi out of the building. building by the ankles, “with his head hitting each step on the way down.”
“Trump himself granted him a presidential pardon to let him go free. This validation is a unique experience that he will never experience again,” Reffitt told WIRED. “I can’t imagine what he’s going to be willing to do now.” It could be much worse.
Reffitt is “terrified” of what will happen next and has armed himself with a handgun and a rifle to protect himself and his boyfriend. Over the past few years, he has been targeted, harassed and threatened online.
Since Trump pardoned everyone, the threats have become even more intense.
“(In the last 24 hours) the situation has become worse than ever,” Reffitt told WIRED. “I think it’s just because, again, the validation that Trump brings just makes people that much more emboldened to say vile, disgusting shit.”
Reffitt is not the only family member of a prisoner released on January 6 to worry about the consequences of Trump’s sweeping pardons. Tasha Adams, the ex-wife of Oath Keeper leader Stewart Rhodes, whose 22-year prison sentence for seditious conspiracy was commuted by Trump, also worries about what might happen. “Stewart is out of prison now and, frankly, I could really use some funds, in case that happens.” Adams wrote on her GoFundMe page Tuesday, hours after her ex-husband was released from prison.
The investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol became the largest in the Justice Department’s history and left many of the nation’s far-right militias in ruins. But with the stroke of a pen Monday night, Trump reinvigorated the militia movement, releasing its most prominent figures, including Rhodes and Enrique Tarrio, the Proud Boy frontman.
“One of the things that concerns me most is the risk that the groups who were decimated after D6 will come back stronger, especially since many of them have had their sentences commuted or been pardoned outright” , says Luke Baumgartner, a researcher at George Washington University. Program on extremism. “I wouldn’t be shocked if the Oath Keepers started making more appearances and saw the Proud Boys ramp up their culture war tactics, particularly against the LGBTQ community, as we’ve seen before. Their leaders are free, they have a lot of catching up to do, and they probably feel vindicated. »
Do you have any advice?
Are you a family member of a January 6 prisoner who is being released? We would love to hear from you. Using a non-work phone or computer, contact David Gilbert at [email protected] or securely on Signal on DavidGilbert.01
Guy Reffitt was the first rioter to be tried for his actions on January 6 and was initially sentenced to seven years and three months, which was reduced by seven months in December after a Supreme Court ruling that led to the dismissal of an obstruction charge. against him.
“I am a very strong Patriot, with fabulous support from the Patriot Warriors, as we navigate through troubled waters,” Reffitt wrote to a prison acquaintance in a text message submitted by the prosecution at his resentencing in December.