An 18-year-old Texas man tipped off the FBI about his father’s role in the Capitol uprising – and said he would do it again.
Jackson Reffitt – whose father Guy Reffitt was indicted in the January 6 siege last week – told local outlet Fox4 that he was acting out of moral obligation.
“It was my moral compass… to do what I thought would protect not only my family but my father himself,” he said.
“I’d do it again.”
The elder Reffitt, from Wylie, had reportedly threatened his son and daughter by saying, “If you turn me in, you are a traitor and you know what happens to traitors … traitors will be shot,” the court papers said.
His son told the TV station, “I considered that a threat, but I never thought he would act on it.”
Reffitt said his father is part of a far-right militia group and has embraced increasingly radical views over the years.
He was concerned about what would happen if the police came to arrest his father and said, “The police could have come anytime, at a bad time, regardless of the situation, and my dad could have opened fire.”
Calling the FBI, “wasn’t just because I think my dad is aggressive,” Reffitt said. “I think what he’s been manipulated into thinking is aggressive.”
He also remembered the moment when he learned that his father was at the siege.
“I think it was FOX playing, and it was just a live screening of the Capitol riots and the storming in, and my mom said your dad is here,” Reffitt said.
Guy Reffitt, 48, was tracked down by federal authorities after footage of him playing in the Capitol during the riot on YouTube and on Fox News on the day of the siege, according to court documents.
Photos included in an affidavit of arrest show him wearing a padded or tactical vest in the Capitol and a black helmet with what looks like a GoPro-style camera.
Investigators found out that, according to the FBI, he had previously posted a comment on a website for an extremist militia group known as the Texas Freedom Force.
When authorities arrested him on January 15, they found an AR-15 rifle and a Smith & Wesson pistol.
Although he hasn’t been able to talk to his father since the arrest, Jackson said he would.
“I would say I’m sorry because I don’t feel like I’m putting him in this situation, but I still feel guilty,” he said.