First Capitol Rioter to Face Trial Sentenced to 7 Years

Image copyright: AP [via Fox News]

The Facts

  • Guy Reffitt, an associate of the right-wing Texas Three Percenters militia, was sentenced on Mon. to more than seven years in prison for taking part in the US Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021.

  • Reffitt was the first person to go on trial for Jan. 6, as opposed to taking a plea agreement, and his sentence is two years longer than the previous longest prison sentence for a Capitol riot defendant.


The Spin

Left narrative

Reffitt, like other Jan. 6 rioters, is facing the consequences of his own actions. He's lucky that the judge decided not to tack on domestic terrorism charges, even though his actions were deeply unpatriotic and threatened the foundations of American democracy.

Pro-Trump narrative

It's absurd to persecute those who participated in the Jan. 6 protests with such ferocity and jail a man for 7 years who didn't even enter the Capitol. The Democrats are the real anti-Americans, demonizing citizens who were simply exercising their democratic rights as "domestic terrorists."


Establishment split

CRITICAL

PRO

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