Trump accused of participating in "criminal conspiracy" to annul 2020 elections 4:34
(CNN) --
A Washington jury ruled Tuesday that one of the Jan. 6 rioters is guilty of all five counts he faced in connection with the Capitol storming.
This is the first outcome of a federal lawsuit linked to the attack.
The result holds Guy Reffitt, a member of the Texas Three Percenter and a Trump supporter when he went to Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021, responsible for his role in the attack.
The Justice Department had charged Reffitt with five counts: attempting to obstruct congressional certification of the 2020 presidential election, transporting weapons to Washington, bringing a Smith & Wesson pistol onto Capitol Hill Restricted Grounds, interfering with Capitol Police who he was protecting the upper west terrace and obstructing justice by threatening his son and daughter when he returned to Texas.
How does this condemnation influence other agitators on Capitol Hill?
The jury made up of six men and six women deliberated for just under four hours before reaching a verdict.
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Guy Reffitt, who could now face years in prison, stood very still, then took a sip of water as the verdict was read.
The week-long trial alternated between Capitol Police witnesses reliving the painful day of the attack, a civics lesson about Congress and a family drama in which a son testified against his father.
The Justice Department's ability to link the actions of one person in the crowd to the broader attack on Capitol Hill has also been tested.
Reffitt, 49, has been in prison since his arrest in late January 2021. His case came to the fore nationally after his son, Jackson Reffitt, gave national television interviews about his father's surrender to the FBI. after disagreeing with him over his support for former President Donald Trump and his involvement with the right-wing group Texas Three Percenters.
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The conviction could have a dramatic effect on the more than 500 Capitol riot defendants whose cases are still making their way through the court system.
For example, it could encourage some defendants to accept plea deals rather than face a jury.
After the jury left the courtroom Tuesday, Judge Dabney Friedrich, who oversaw the case, confirmed that she believed the Justice Department had presented enough evidence for the jury to find Reffitt guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.