By Glynn Wilson –

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The radical domestic terrorists who got sucked into Donald Trump’s insurrectionist message against a legitimate election and followed the former president into the violent breach of the citadel of American Democracy on Jan. 6, 2021, are being taken out one by one and shown the inside of federal prisons by the United States Department of Justice in a systematic criminal investigation unprecedented in size and scope.

More than 750 insurrectionists have been charged so far with crimes that range from trespassing to seditious conspiracy. More than 200 of those involved have pleaded guilty. And now in the first federal trial, Guy Wesley Reffitt of Wylie, Texas was found guilty on all counts by a jury in Federal District Court in Washington.

About the time that verdict was announced on Tuesday, investigators announced a new indictment against the former leader of the far-right nationalist group the Proud Boys, Enrique Tarrio, on charges of conspiring to plan and launch the attack, even though he never entered the Capitol, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.

Then it was announced in a press release that Duke Edward Wilson, 67, of Nampa, Idaho, who had pleaded guilty, was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison for assaulting a law enforcement officer and other violent actions during the breach of the Capitol.

The DOJ is quick to point out that the violent assault disrupted the peaceful transfer of power and delayed a joint session of Congress in the process of affirming the Electoral College votes in the presidential election of 2020, which confirmed Joe Biden as president, not Donald Trump.

According to court documents, Wilson went to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 wearing a dark-colored jacket with a long-sleeved blue shirt underneath and a purple and white baseball hat that read, “CNN,” with the words, “FAKE NEWS” underneath it.

He entered the Lower West Terrace tunnel area of the Capitol Building shortly before 3 p.m. as the crowd was pushing against law enforcement officers in efforts to enter the building, spraying liquid irritants at police while pushing on their shields.

Wilson made his way to the front line of the crowd. As officers tried to close a set of double doors (that should have been closed already, but may have been opened by Republican congressional staff), he grabbed for them and tried to pull a door open. He then raised what appeared to be a tablet to deflect the liquid irritant officers were spraying at the crowd.

Wilson then picked up a several feet long white cylindrical object, believed to be a thin polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe, and indiscriminately used it to strike at the officers, hitting one. Wilson then raised the object above his head and threw it into the line of officers.

As the confrontation continued, he also assisted others in attempting to pull a shield away from an officer. During a struggle over the shield, he pushed an officer to the ground and then joined others in pushing another one down.

Wilson was arrested on April 15, 2021. He pleaded guilty in the District of Columbia on Sept. 7, 2021, to obstruction of an official proceeding and assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Royce C. Lamberth ordered him to pay $2,000 in restitution. He also must serve three years of supervised release following his prison term.

The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the Department of Justice National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, which identifies Wilson as #87 in its seeking information photos, with assistance from the U.S. Capitol Police, Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and the FBI’s Salt Lake City Field Office.

On Tuesday, after only three hours of deliberations, the jury in Washington found Guy Wesley Reffitt of Texas guilty on all five counts, including the obstruction of Congress, by helping to lead a pro-Trump mob in an advance against the Capitol and D.C. police that resulted in the first violent breach of the building.

Reffitt was also convicted of wearing an illegal pistol on his hip during the attack and of later threatening his teenage son and daughter to keep them from turning him in to the authorities. He faces up to 20 years in prison on the obstruction count alone.

Henry “Enrique” Tarrio

Tarrio, 38, of Miami, Florida, was arrested in Miami and made his initial appearance in the Southern District of Florida. He was named in a superseding indictment returned Monday in the District of Columbia that also includes five previously charged defendants.

Others named in the superseding indictment include Ethan Nordean, 31, of Auburn, Washington; Joseph Biggs, 38, of Ormond Beach, Florida; Zachary Rehl, 36, of Philadelphia; Charles Donohoe, 34, of Kernersville, North Carolina; and Dominic Pezzola, 44, of Rochester, New York. All previously were detained. They earlier pleaded not guilty to charges.

According to court documents, the Proud Boys describes itself as a “pro-Western fraternal organization for men who refuse to apologize for creating the modern world, aka Western Chauvinists.” Through at least Jan. 6, 2021, Tarrio was the national chairman of the organization. In mid-December, Tarrio created a special chapter of the Proud Boys known as the “Ministry of Self Defense.”

As alleged in the indictment, from in or around December 2020, Tarrio and his co-defendants, all of whom were leaders or members of the Ministry of Self Defense, conspired to corruptly obstruct, influence, and impede an official proceeding, the certification of the Electoral College vote.

On Jan. 6, the defendants directed, mobilized, and led members of the crowd onto the Capitol grounds and into the Capitol, leading to dismantling of metal barricades, destruction of property and assaults on law enforcement officers.

Although Tarrio is not accused of physically taking part in the breach of the Capitol, the indictment alleges that he led the advance planning and remained in contact with other members of the Proud Boys during their breach of the Capitol.

Tarrio was arrested on Jan. 4, 2021, on a warrant charging him in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia with destruction of property in the Dec. 12, 2020, burning of a Black Lives Matter banner. He was released at approximately 5 p.m. on Jan. 5, 2021. As a condition of his release, he was ordered by the Court to stay out of Washington.

The indictment alleges that Tarrio nonetheless continued to direct and encourage the Proud Boys prior to and during the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and that he claimed credit for what had happened on social media and in an encrypted chat room during and after the attack.

Tarrio was indicted on one count of each conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding and obstruction of an official proceeding, as well as two counts each of assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers and destruction of government property.

In the 13 months since Jan. 6, more than 750 individuals have been arrested in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including over 235 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.

Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.

___

If you support truth in reporting with no paywall, and fearless writing with no popup ads or sponsored content, consider making a contribution today with GoFundMe or Patreon or PayPal.