Prosecutors seek 15-year sentence for armed Capitol rioter

Federal prosecutors are seeking a 15-year prison sentence for a Texas man who was convicted of storming the U.S. Capitol with a holstered handgun, calling him a militia group member who took a central role in the pro-Trump mob’s attack, according to a court filing Friday.

If a judge accepts the Justice Department’s recommendation, Guy Wesley Reffitt’s prison sentence would be nearly three times the length of the longest sentence among more than 200 defendants who have been sentenced for crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot.

The longest sentence so far is five years and three months for Robert Palmer, a Florida man who pleaded guilty to attacking police officers at the Capitol.

U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich is scheduled to sentence Reffitt on Aug. 1. The judge isn’t bound by any of the recommendations or the sentencing guidelines, which call for a sentence ranging from nine years to 11 years and three months.

Defense attorney Clinton Broden, who is asking for Reffitt to be sentenced to no more than two years in prison, said he was shocked by prosecutors’ recommendation. He noted that Reffitt wasn’t accused of entering the Capitol or assaulting any police officers that day.

“I certainly don’t condone what Mr. Reffitt did,” he said during a telephone interview Friday. And I think everybody realizes the seriousness of the offenses. But at the same point, there has to be some proportionality here.”