Man who brought firearm outside of Capitol on Jan. 6 gets 7 years in prison, judge rejects 'terrorism' penalties

Guy Reffitt, a right-wing militia recruiter from Texas who brought a gun to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, has received a 7-year prison sentence, the longest term yet of anyone sentenced for their part in the riot.

Reffitt, a senior member of the Three Percenters militia, was the first of those charged to opt to go to trial instead of taking a plea agreement, CNN reported. A jury found him guilty of five felonies committed during the riot, including bringing a firearm to the Capitol and interfering with an official proceeding. He did not enter the building.

Jackson Reffitt, Guy's son, testified against him in his trial, saying his father had discouraged them from turning him in. The elder Reffitt reportedly told his son that "traitors get shot." "I never thought our father would say that to us," Jackson said.

Prosecutors asked that the judge enhance the sentence with penalties related to terrorism but the judge ultimately declined to add such penalties, saying that doing so would create an "unwarranted disparity" between Reffitt and the other rioters who had been sentenced already, per CNN.

The Biden administration has repeatedly likened the Jan. 6 Capitol Riot to the U.S. Civil War and the rioters to Confederate soldiers fighting against the Union. Confederate officers and leaders, however, never faced treason trials. Some were indicted on such charges, but ultimately released without trial. Confederate President Jefferson Davis spent two years in federal custody and was indicted for treason, but was never tried or convicted, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Reffitt's jail-sentence, should he serve it in its entirety, will more than triple Davis's prison time.