Federal prosecutors are seeking a 15-year prison sentence for a Texas man who was convicted of storming the U.S. Capitol with a holstered handgun, calling him a militia group member who took a central role in the pro-Trump mob's attack, according to a court filing Friday.
If a judge accepts the Justice Department's recommendation, Guy Wesley Reffitt's prison sentence would be nearly three times longer than any of the more than 200 other defendants who have been sentenced for crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot in the nation's capital.
Defense attorney Clinton Broden, who is asking for Reffitt to be sentenced to no more than two years in prison, said he was shocked by prosecutors' recommendation. He noted that Reffitt wasn't accused of entering the Capitol or assaulting any police officers that day. "Reffitt did not intend to simply obstruct Congress’s certification of the Electoral College vote. Rather, Reffitt intended to physically remove the legislators from the building and actually 'take over' Congress," Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Nestler wrote.
Jurors saw videos that captured the confrontation between a few Capitol police officers and a mob of people, including Reffitt, who approached them on the west side of the Capitol.
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