Following a Supreme Court decision that narrowed an obstruction charge, the second Jan. 6 rioter has had their sentence reduced. Guy Reffitt was resentenced on Friday to nearly seven years in prison, which is a reduction of seven months from the original sentence imposed by a judge in 2022 after he was convicted on all five counts.
As U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich and a prosecutor described his involvement in the riot, Reffitt shook his head repeatedly, expressing his frustration. He conveyed to the judge that he was “in my feelings” about what he viewed as “lies and the craziness.”
Supreme Court ruling prompts reduced sentences for Capitol riot participants
“I was not there to take over no government,” Reffitt asserted, according to The Associated Press. “I love this country.” The judge responded, “No one has a problem with your feelings. It’s the actions you took with your feelings.”
Charged with transporting firearms from Texas to Washington, D.C., Reffitt also faced accusations of bringing a gun into restricted areas, obstructing Capitol Police, and threatening his children after the riot. He was convicted of obstructing an official proceeding, a charge that was impacted by the Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling earlier this year.
The law, Section 1512(c)(2), criminalizes the act of “corruptly” obstructing or interfering with official inquiries and investigations by Congress. Over 350 individuals who participated in the Capitol riot were charged under this statute.
The justices determined that federal prosecutors had improperly reinterpreted the charge, originally aimed at document shredding, to apply to the actions of those who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
In light of the Supreme Court’s ruling, many rioters sought judges to reconsider or delay their sentences, leading prosecutors to drop the obstruction charge in several cases, including Reffitt’s.
So far, only one other rioter, Thomas Robertson, has received a sentence reduction as a result of the ruling. In September, the former Virginia police officer was sentenced to six years in prison after his obstruction conviction was dismissed, marking a reduction of more than a year from his original term. In total, more than 1,500 rioters have been charged in relation to the Capitol attack.
