2 years ago
A Capitol Police officer testifying at the trial of Jan. 6 defendant Guy Reffitt said Reffitt’s early confrontation with law enforcement was a key moment just before the pro-Trump mob tore through scaffolding and swarmed the Senate wing of the Capitol.
Sgt. Adam DesCamp, who remains on the Capitol Police force more than a year after rioters stormed the building and threatened the transfer of power, provided some of the most vivid testimony to date about the cruelty and brutality of the push by rioters in the early moments of the mob attack.
DesCamp said that when Reffitt was at the front of the mob gathered near an exterior Capitol stairway, he shouted that police were “traitors” and repeatedly egged on the crowd behind him. While he approached and officers unsuccessfully tried to stop his advance with pepper balls, the swelling crowd began cutting through a tarp on the inaugural scaffolding with knives, he said, creating a gap that allowed hundreds of rioters to push close to the building.
“I was the only officer standing between this entire crowd and the podium,” DesCamp said.
DesCamp walked jurors through video footage of that moment, which revealed that some of the most high-profile participants in the Jan. 6 assault used that opportunity to get close to the Capitol. They included Jacob Chansley, known as the QAnon Shaman, whose horned helmet and face paint became a symbol of the assault. And they included Dominic Pezzola, who kicked off the breach of the building by shattering a Senate wing window with a stolen police riot shield.
DesCamp’s testimony represented a key moment in the Reffitt trial, the first such trial in the 14 months since the attack. His testimony underscored the connection between Reffitt — whose confrontation prosecutors say helped ignite the larger riot — and the chaos that ensued as the mob overwhelmed and outnumbered police.
Prosecutors are preparing to rest their case Monday, and Reffitt’s attorney, William Welch, says he doesn’t intend to call any witnesses. That could send the case to the jury by Monday afternoon.
Jurors have already heard from Reffitt’s son Jackson, who reported his father to the FBI prior to Jan. 6 and later recorded conversations with him about his actions on Jan. 6. Prosecutors also called Rocky Hardie, a member of the Texas Three Percenters, who traveled with Reffitt to Washington and described bringing firearms to the Capitol. DesCamp’s former colleague, Shauni Kerkhoff, also testified about her efforts to prevent Reffitt from nearing the building.
Welch has emphasized that Reffitt isn’t charged with violence or destruction, but prosecutors have argued that Reffitt’s early approach — he himself claimed he ignited the broader breach — was a pivotal step in the broader assault on the Capitol.
DesCamp, who had attempted to stop Reffitt’s advance with a pepper ball launcher, said that after the mob began crushing Capitol Police officers attempting to hold the line, they pinned his arms and dismantled his weapon. Then, one of them pulled down his mask and sprayed him directly with WD-40 or brake cleaner, he said. Someone else deployed bear spray at him.
“They sprayed me with carbon choke cleaner or brake cleaner and put my mask back on my face,” the officer said. “They pushed my mask aside again and used the bear spray and sprayed it directly into my face.”
Asked what impact that had, DesCamp said, dryly, “That had a bad effect.” The officer said he was taken out of commission at that point and was instructed by colleagues to go inside the Capitol to “decontaminate,” but later returned to duty guarding a key Senate door.
Reffitt’s defense attorney William Welch noted during cross-examination that there was no evidence his client directly participated in the worst excesses of the mob, including the assaults on him and other officers.
“Mr. Reffitt never touched you, did he?” Welch asked.
“No,” DesCamp said.
“Mr. Reffitt was not the person who pushed your mask, was he?” the defense attorney asked
“No,” DesCamp replied.
The Capitol Police sergeant also conceded that Reffitt never even explicitly threatened any harm to him or other officers. “They were not direct threats,” DesCamp conceded.
However, the officer later explained that he took as threatening Reffitt’s repeated cries calling officers “traitor” and warning that the entire crowd couldn’t be stopped.
Reffitt was “implying that he was going to attack me to try to get up there,” DesCamp said.
Reffitt faces five felony charges: two counts of civil disorder, one of obstruction of an official proceeding, one of obstruction of justice and one of entering a restricted area with a firearm. Most of the testimony Monday appeared to center on one civil disorder charge which accuses Reffitt of impeding and interfering with police amid civil unrest.
The obstruction of justice charge focuses Reffitt’s alleged threats after Jan. 6 that he would shoot his children Jackson and Peyton if they reported him to the FBI. His son Jackson, now 19, testified last week. Daughter Peyton was expected to testify Monday and endorse some, but not all, of her brother’s testimony.
However, a prosecutor announced early Monday that the government no longer plans to call her. No reason was announced in court.
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