WASHINGTON–Federal prosecutors rested their case Monday against a Texas militia man accused in the Jan. 6, 2021 assault with the testimony of two Capitol Police officers who described being instantly outnumbered by a violent mob led by the defendant.
“It was a really bad situation,” Sgt. Matthew Flood told jurors, adding that “hundreds” of rioters had already breached the security perimeter when they arrived.
Almost immediately, Flood said that a fellow officer identified the defendant, Guy Wesley Reffitt, at the front of the pack, waving rioters forward.
“The person in the blue jacket was the problem,” Flood said, referring to his colleague’s description of the 49-year-old Wylie, Texas man who continued to advance after officers launched non-lethal projectiles in Reffitt’s direction.
“He was in front; he was leading them up the stairs,” Flood said.
Fearing for the safety of lawmakers, Flood said he eventually left the front lines to evacuate members of Congress.
Flood represented the final witness in the government’s case against Reffitt, who is charged with obstructing Congress, interfering with law enforcement, two firearm-related charges and obstructing justice. He has pleaded not guilty to all counts.
A jury could begin deliberations as early as Monday afternoon.
From the start of the first jury trial to emerge from the government’s sprawling Capitol investigation, prosecutors have cast Reffitt, a member of the paramilitary Three Percenters, as a leader of the mob that advanced on Capitol Police officers.
More:Prosecutors open first Jan. 6 jury trial by casting armed Texas man as assault leader
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nestler, using a montage of surveillance video, has described Reffitt as the “tip of this mob’s spear,” undeterred by a barrage of non-lethal projectiles and clouds of chemical repellent.
“Don’t be a traitor, let us in,” Reffitt called out at one point, Capitol Police Sgt. Adam DesCamp testified Monday. “You can’t stop us all.”
DesCamp narrated a portion of the video in which he appeared wearing a gas mask, attempting to stop screaming rioters from entering a doorway on the Senate side of the Capitol.
During the siege, DesCamp said rioters pushed his mask aside and sprayed him with bear repellent and WD-40, an oil-base lubricant and rust remover, temporarily blinding him.
While Reffitt was leading the charge, DesCamp and Flood acknowledged that the defendant did not physically assault or use the chemical sprays against the officers.
“No, he did not,” DesCamp said, when asked by Reffitt’s lawyer, William Welch, whether the defendant had attacked him.
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