Following President Trump's executive order pardoning and commuting sentences for over 1,500 January 6th insurrectionists, Jackson Reffitt, whose father was among those pardoned, expresses deep concern about the potential for violence and the emboldening of extremist groups. The pardons have also raised anxieties among family members of released January 6th prisoners, highlighting the lasting impact of the Capitol riot and the dangers posed by its aftermath.
Almost four years to the day since his father was taken into custody for his part in the January 6 Capitol riot, Jackson 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 insurrectionists. Reffitt has spent most of the last four years in hiding, constantly on the move every few months. He was the person who tipped off 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 body armor and carrying a pistol and zip ties. He was caught on camera urging other rioters to storm the Capitol building and told members of his militia group that he intended to drag House Speaker Nancy Pelosi out of the building by her ankles, “with her head hitting every step on the way down.”\“Trump himself has given him a presidential pardon to let him be free. That validation is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience that he's never going to get again,” Reffitt tells WIRED. “I can't imagine what he's going to be willing to do now. It could get a whole hell of a lot worse.” Reffitt is “terrified” about what is going to 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 are becoming even more intense. In the last 24 hours “it's gotten worse than ever,” Reffitt tells WIRED. “I think just because, yet again, the validation that Trump is bringing is just making people a whole lot more emboldened to just say some vile, disgusting shit.”\Reffitt is not the only family member of a released January 6 prisoner who is concerned about the fallout from Trump’s blanket pardons. Tasha Adams, the ex-wife of Oath Keeper leader Stewart Rhodes, who had his 22-year sentence for seditious conspiracy commuted by Trump, is also worried about what might happen. “Stewart is out of prison now and, frankly, I could really use a bit of a run fund, in case it comes to that,” Adams wrote on her GoFundMe page on Tuesday, hours after her ex-husband was released from prison. The investigation into the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol became the biggest in Justice Department history and left many far-right militia groups in the country in ruins. But with a single pen stroke on Monday night, Trump has reinvigorated the militia movement, freeing their most prominent figures, including Rhodes and Proud Boy leader Enrique Tarrio. “One of things I’m most concerned about is the risk of groups that were decimated after J6 coming back stronger, especially since many of them had their sentences commuted or were outright pardoned,” says Luke Baumgartner, a research fellow at George Washington University’s Program on Extremism. “I wouldn’t be shocked if the Oath Keepers began making more appearances, and seeing the Proud Boys accelerate their culture war tactics, especially against the LGBTQ community, like we’ve seen before. Their leaders are free, they have a lot to catch up on, and they are likely feeling vindicated.” Got a Tip? Are you a family member of a January 6 prisoner who is being released? We’d like to hear from you. Using a nonwork phone or computer, contact David Gilbert at [email protected] or securely on Signal on DavidGilbert.01\Guy Reffitt was the first rioter to go on trial for his actions on January 6 and initially received a sentence of 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’m a very strong Patriot, with fabulous support from Patriot Warriors, as we navigate troubled waters,” Reffitt wrote to one acquaintance from jail in a text message submitted by the prosecution at his December resentencing. In October, he sent another text message to the same acquaintance, writing: “I do love the J6 family dynamics. We really are a ‘Yuge’ family now. We all have a common goal. Save America and the people.” Jackson Reffitt believes that his father has become even more extreme in prison. “He's gotten worse throughout the years,” says Reffitt. “He's gotten more radicalized, and now he gets out, and now he can buy a gun, and now he can do whatever he wants. That is just so terrifying to me.” After Trump signed the executive order, Jackson Reffitt switched on his laptop and began watching the celebrations at Freedom Corner, a site next to the DC Jail where activists have gathered every night for more than 900 days to call for the release of January 6 prisoners. On camera, one of the leaders of Freedom Corner was shouting out the names of people who were going to be released, including many prisoners who had been convicted of violently assaulting police officers. The crowd responded to each name with loud cheer
JANUARY 6TH TRUMP PARDONS MILITIA MOVEMENT EXTREMISM CAPITOL RIOT INSURRECTIONISTS
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