A son takes the stand against his father in the first trial related to Jan. 6 riot

 

A son takes the stand against his father in the first trial related to Jan. 6 riot

Transcript¹

The trial of accused Capitol rioter Guy Reffitt continued Thursday with intense video from Jan. 6, and testimony² from his son, Jackson, who turned his father in to the FBI.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

There was an emotional day of testimony yesterday in the first trial connected with last year's Capitol riot. The defendant³, Guy Reffitt, is part of an anti-government militia⁴ group in Texas, and prosecutors⁵ say he brought a gun with him to the Capitol grounds on January 6 and charged at the police line. One of the key witnesses for the prosecution⁶ was Reffitt's own 19-year-old son, Jackson. NPR's Tom Dreisbach has been covering the trial. Tom, tell us more about Jackson Reffitt and his decision to testify.

TOM DREISBACH, BYLINE⁷: Yeah. Well, this story essentially⁸ starts back in 2020. Jackson Reffitt was living with his family in Texas, and over that year, he testified, his father seemed to be getting even more and more extreme, more involved in this militia group called the Three Percenters. He said his father kept talking about wanting to do, quote, "something big." That talk escalated⁹ after that November election, when his dad was talking about going to D.C. for the 6. The dad texted the family group chat on Christmas Eve that what was coming would, quote, "shock the world." So that night, Christmas Eve, Jackson testified that he googled FBI tips on his phone, and he wrote to the FBI.

MARTINEZ: And did they respond?

DREISBACH: At that point, the FBI did not respond, and Guy Reffitt, Jackson's dad, did go to D.C. for January 6. That's not in dispute in this trial. Prosecutors showed videos from that day were Reffitt was talking about wanting to drag politicians out of the Capitol building by their hair. Later, prosecutors showed us footage of him heading up Capitol steps with the mob behind him before he's hit by so much bear spray, he has to turn back. But the mob that was massing behind him eventually overtakes the building. Now, a few days later, after January 6, Guy Reffitt, the father, returned home to Texas. Jackson, his son, testified that his dad was proud of what he and other rioters had done on the 6, and Jackson started secretly recording¹⁰ what his dad was saying. Here's part of what prosecutors played for the jury.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GUY REFFITT: There will be days your whole life when you'll know that your father was there when a epic¹¹, historical thing happened in this country. And guess what? We're not done yet. I've got a lot more to do.

DREISBACH: On this tape, Guy Reffitt called the day an insurrection. He described charging towards a police line and helping¹² people take over the Capitol. He also said that he had his gun on him and even though that they didn't use their guns, quote, "everyone I know who was there was carrying weapons." And at one point on the tape, Jackson Reffitt, the son, has this argument with his dad about whether he broke the law. Guy talks first in this tape.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

G REFFITT: Tell me the law I broke.

JACKSON REFFITT: You carried a weapon onto federal grounds.

G REFFITT: OK.

J REFFITT: OK.

G REFFITT: Which part of that is breaking the law?

DREISBACH: Guy Reffitt essentially claims he was protected by the Second Amendment¹³ on Capitol grounds. And now this is a key piece of evidence because Reffitt's defense¹⁴ has denied he even brought a gun to the Capitol grounds.

MARTINEZ: All right. So clearly the recordings¹⁵ seem to be key here. What was the deciding factor that made his son turn him over?

DREISBACH: Well, not long after that recording you just heard, Jackson testified that his dad had become paranoid about being arrested. He told his son and other family members that they shouldn't turn him in to law enforcement because that would make them a traitor¹⁶ and, quote, "traitors¹⁷ get shot." Later that same day of that conversation, Jackson Reffitt, the son, went to the FBI, handed them the recordings, plus screenshots of text messages, and he's been cooperating ever since.

MARTINEZ: And really quick, what was the reaction in the courtroom?

DREISBACH: Well, at the start of the testimony, his dad burst into tears. His mom was in the gallery, also quite emotional. Jackson was soft-spoken, calm. He's not been in close touch with his family since turning his dad in to the FBI, and he waved at his mom as he left the court.

MARTINEZ: That's NPR's Tom Dreisbach. Tom, thanks.

DREISBACH: Thank you.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

3 defendant   

n.被告；adj.处于被告地位的

参考例句：

• The judge rejected a bribe from the defendant's family.法官拒收被告家属的贿赂。
• The defendant was borne down by the weight of evidence.有力的证据使被告认输了。

4 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

5 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

6 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

7 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

8 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

9 escalated   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The fighting escalated into a full-scale war. 这场交战逐步扩大为全面战争。
• The demonstration escalated into a pitched battle with the police. 示威逐步升级，演变成了一场同警察的混战。

10 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

11 epic   

n.史诗，叙事诗；adj.史诗般的，壮丽的

参考例句：

• I gave up my epic and wrote this little tale instead.我放弃了写叙事诗，而写了这个小故事。
• They held a banquet of epic proportions.他们举行了盛大的宴会。

12 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

13 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

14 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

15 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

16 traitor   

n.叛徒，卖国贼

参考例句：

• The traitor was finally found out and put in prison.那个卖国贼终于被人发现并被监禁了起来。
• He was sold out by a traitor and arrested.他被叛徒出卖而被捕了。

17 traitors   

卖国贼( traitor的名词复数 )； 叛徒； 背叛者； 背信弃义的人

参考例句：

• Traitors are held in infamy. 叛徒为人所不齿。
• Traitors have always been treated with contempt. 叛徒永被人们唾弃。