The son of a man accused of helping to lead the 6 January 2020 Capitol riot has testified that his father threatened him with injury if he alerted authorities.
Guy Reffitt, 49, has pleaded not guilty to five felony charges related to the attack, and is the first accused rioter to stand trial.
His son, Jackson, 19, warned the FBI of his father’s plans.
Mr Reffitt told his children alerting authorities would make them “traitors”.
“If you turn me in, you’re a traitor and traitors get shot,” Jackson testified to a Washington DC court on Thursday.
The teenager said that he had felt “nervous” and “weird” searching how to contact the FBI to report his father, he told jurors in Washington DC, but felt compelled to do so after exchanges with Mr Reffitt he found alarming.
“I felt pretty gross and I felt pretty uncomfortable for even thinking about doing something like that, but I knew that it would help immensely,” Jackson said. “Better safe than sorry”.
According to federal prosecutors, the elder Mr Reffitt drove from Texas to Washington DC to take part in the riot, in which supporters of former president Donald Trump attempted to storm the Capitol as lawmakers inside voted to certify the results of the 2020 elections.
Prosecutors also allege that Mr Reffitt was a member of a militia groups, the ‘Three Percenters’ and led rioters up the Capitol’s stairs to the building. They’ve described him as a “leader” and said he was at the “tip of the spear” during the riot.
Jackson had told FBI investigators that his father informed the family that he’d gone to the Capitol to protect the country and brought a gun with him.
Mr Reffitt is charged with bringing a handgun to the Capitol, obstruction of justice and obstruction of an official proceeding, among other crimes.
On 11 January, just 5 days after the riot, Mr Reffitt warned his children against reporting him to the police, telling them he’d “do what he had to do”.
Soon after, Mr Refitt allegedly told his daughter that he would “put a bullet through” her phone if she were recording him or sharing his comments online. He was arrested on 19 January.
She is also expected to testify during the trial.
To date, more than 750 people have been arrested for their role in the 6 January riot. The majority have been charged with misdemeanours, and about 40 have received prison sentences.
