Judging Freedom - First Jan. 6 Trial Starts Today

Episode Date: February 28, 2022

The Justice Department has its first opportunity in a courtroom to show how the violent chaos that erupted at the Capitol on Jan 6th last year disrupted Congress. #Jan6thSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Resolve to earn your degree in the new year in the Bay with WGU. WGU is an online accredited university that specializes in personalized learning. With courses available 24-7 and monthly start dates, you can earn your degree on your schedule. You may even be able to graduate sooner than you think by demonstrating mastery of the material you know. Make 2025 the year you focus on your future. Learn more at wgu.edu. Hello there, everyone. Judge Andrew Napolitano here with Judging Freedom. Today is Monday, February 28th, 2022. It's about 1235 in the afternoon here on the east coast of the United States. As I speak, a trial is beginning not far from here in Washington, D.C. This is the first

trial for anyone indicted as a result of the events at the Capitol building on January 6th, a year ago. The defendant is a man named Guy Wesley Reffitt, R-E-F-F-I-T-T. Mr. Reffitt, who has been in jail for nearly a year, is accused of, indicted for, charging up a stairway in the Capitol building with a pistol on his hip. Presumably the pistol was lawfully owned and lawfully carried at the place where he bought it, but obviously not lawfully possessed or carried in the Capitol building of the United States. Why didn't he plead guilty? Well, we don't know why a person doesn't plead guilty. The government has offered a lot of deals because the government doesn't want these cases tried. This is the first jury trial. And Mr. Reffitt is not accused of harming anyone. He's been in jail for a year.

There isn't a state in the union that would put you in jail for a year for this crime. They may take the gun away from you, but they wouldn't put you in jail. a year for this crime. They may take the gun away from you, but they wouldn't put you in jail. The feds obviously took the gun away from him and have kept him in jail. Here's what's at stake for the feds. A short answer, a lot. This is a jury trial where anything can happen. The defendant can call FBI agents or can call private investigators who are former FBI agents to testify about what the government knew and when it knew it and how much of this was fomented by the government.

Did FBI agents know that Mr. Reffitt was there with his gun and was going to charge up the stairway and they let him do it anyway or encouraged him to do so? I don't know if that's the case, but if that kind of information comes out, this could explode in the government's face. Let's just say the government has offered Mr. Reffet and his lawyer a number of deals for him to plead guilty, and he has rejected them because the government doesn't want to try this case. We will closely monitor it for you. Judge Napolitano, judging freedom. available online 24-7 and monthly start dates, WGU offers maximum flexibility so you can focus on your future. Learn more at wgu.edu.