Capitol rioter told children they’d ‘get shot’ if they turned him in, wife says

A man who appeared to be at the violent riot at the U.S. Capitol earlier this month allegedly told his children they would “get shot” if they turned him in to authorities.

The alleged rioter, Guy Wesley Reffitt, was arrested in Texas, according to the Justice Department’s website.

He is charged with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and obstruction of justice.

Reffitt’s wife told the FBI that on Jan. 8, Reffitt told their family members that he was at the U.S. Capitol and claimed that he went to protect the country, according to an affidavit. The document did not refer to the relatives by name. 

By Jan. 11, his son and daughter told his wife that Reffitt threatened them if they were to turn him in. 

“If you turn me in, you’re a traitor and you know what happens to traitors…traitors get shot,” Reffitt’s wife said, according to the FBI. 

Reffitt said he had to “erase everything” because the FBI was on to him, according to his son. He added that if they reported him, he would have no choice but to “do what he had to do.”

He also threatened to “put a bullet through” his daughter’s phone if she posted the video anywhere to social media, according to Reffitt’s daughter.

Reffitt’s wife told authorities that he was a member of the right-wing Three Percenters movement. The FBI found that he posted a comment on a website for “Texas Freedom Force,” which is a militia movement.

Reffitt was allegedly seen in a video posted to Reuters’ YouTube channel wearing a blue jacket over a black tactical-style vest and a black helmet with a camera attached. Screenshots of the video show Reffitt flushing out his eyes after being sprayed with a form of chemical irritant.

Federal agents searched his home on Jan. 16, where they found an AR-15 rifle and a pistol. Reffitt said that he brought the pistol on his drive from Texas to D.C. but had disassembled it to comply with D.C. law.

The arrest is one of more than 100 made as law enforcement races to find those who participated in the riot that led to five deaths.