‘Traitors get shot’: Son told FBI of father’s part in Capitol riots
Washington: A Texan teenager who tipped off the FBI about his father’s alleged involvement in the Capitol riots said he would “do it again”, despite claiming his father threatened to shoot him for being a “traitor”.
Jackson Reffitt, 18, said he felt a moral obligation to report his father to the authorities after watching him in the violent pro-Trump riots on live television.
Jackson Reffitt said he tipped off the FBI about his father’s role in the Capitol riot and insurrection.
His father, Guy, 48, was arrested at his home in Wylie, Texas, on Jan 16 and faces charges of obstruction of justice and knowingly entering a restricted building.
According to court documents, Reffitt had allegedly threatened his wife and children, saying: “If you turn me in, you’re a traitor and you know what happens to traitors… traitors get shot.”
The younger Reffitt said he was “afraid” of what his father might think of him, but told Fox 4 that he had acted according to his “moral compass”.
“[It was] what I thought would protect not only my family, but my dad himself,” he said.
Reffitt added that while he felt “guilty” about turning his father in, he “would do it again.“
Reffitt said his father was a member of a far-right militia group and had recently embraced radicalised views.
Image of Guy Reffitt during the insurrection.
He said he saw his father, dressed in a protective vest and black helmet, at the Capitol on Jan 6 while watching live coverage.
He claimed he had already reported his father to the FBI weeks before the riot, after his father told him he intended “to do something big”.
Reffitt senior told FBI agents he was at the Capitol but did not go inside, the documents state. He said he went to the capital to “protect the country”.
Telegraph, London
Most Viewed in World
Source: Read Full Article