美国国家公共电台 NPR Jury in the first Jan. 6 trial finds Capitol riot defendant Guy Reffitt guilty

Jury in the first Jan. 6 trial finds Capitol riot defendant¹ Guy Reffitt guilty

Transcript²

Members of the jury found Guy Reffitt guilty on all counts for his participation³ in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol. It's the first trial stemming from the events of that day.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The first man convicted for his role in the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol is expected to appeal. Outside the courthouse, Guy Reffitt's wife told reporters, quote, "this fight has just begun."

NPR's Tom Dreisbach covered this trial, and I talked to him earlier this morning.

TOM DREISBACH, BYLINE⁴: Reffitt was a member of a militia⁵ that calls itself the Texas Three Percenters, and on the day of January 6, he brought his handgun to Capitol grounds. He was at the front of the mob, climbing Capitol steps. Police then hit him with pepper spray, stopped him. So he never made it in the building. But rioters behind him did swarm⁶ the Capitol. Later, back home in Texas, he threatened his teenage kids, telling them not to turn him into the FBI, saying quote, "traitors⁷ get shot." Ultimately, he was convicted on the gun charges, obstructing⁸ police officers, obstructing Congress certification of the electoral vote and for threatening his children.

MARTIN: What kind of evidence did the jury hear from prosecutors⁹?

DREISBACH: It was what prosecutors described as a mountain of evidence. We saw video from January 6 showing Reffitt on those stairs, messages from his phone. His son secretly recorded his dad bragging¹⁰ about what he had done on the 6. We even heard a recording¹¹ of a Zoom¹² meeting between Reffitt and members of his militia, again talking about that day, again talking about bringing a gun to the Capitol. Prosecutors then backed all of that up with testimony¹³ from police, a member of Reffitt's militia and the son who testified against his dad.

MARTIN: Wow. So the defense¹⁴ - what kind of arguments did the defense make?

DREISBACH: Overall, it was pretty minimal¹⁵ defense. The opening statement was just three minutes. They did not call any witnesses. Attorney Bill Welch suggested that the videos we saw in court could be deep fakes without really providing any evidence for that. He suggested that Guy Reffitt had a drinking problem and used Xanax the medication, so maybe he was under the influence when he said those incriminating things. He did not really have much response to all the evidence that Guy Reffitt had a gun on Capitol grounds, even though they denied that he did. And at the end of the trial, I asked Reffitt's wife, Nicole, about Welch's performance. She said he did what he needed to do.

MARTIN: What other reaction did you hear from the family?

DREISBACH: Well, as I mentioned, the son testified against his father in this case. So this case has torn this family apart in many ways.

MARTIN: Yeah.

DREISBACH: Nicole Reffitt said yesterday was a hard day. She said she stands by her husband. She loves her son still. She was also asked if she had a message for the other Jan. 6 defendants¹⁶. Here's what she said.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

NICOLE REFFITT: Don't take a plea. Do not take a plea. They want us to take a plea. They are making a point out of Guy to intimidate¹⁷ the other members of the 1/6-ers. And we will all fight together.

DREISBACH: And when she says 1/6-ers, that's a reference to the hundreds of other January 6 defendants.

MARTIN: So this is far from done, right? I mean, there are...

DREISBACH: Yeah.

MARTIN: ...Hundreds of other cases to come.

DREISBACH: That's right. I mean, around 500 people have cases that are still unresolved. Many were watching this case very closely. Couple of things might stick out to them - one, that mountain of evidence prosecutors introduced. The other is the fact that the jury took just about two hours to return a verdict that is very quick. So this may give prosecutors some leverage¹⁸ to get other people to bargain with a plea agreement. Other defense attorneys, though, might have a more assertive¹⁹ strategy than we saw here in this case, so we'll just have to see how it plays out.

MARTIN: NPR's Tom Dreisbach, who is following it all - thanks so much, Tom.

DREISBACH: Thanks, Rachel.

1 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。

2 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。

3 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

4 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。

5 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。

6 swarm   

n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入

参考例句：

• There is a swarm of bees in the tree.这树上有一窝蜜蜂。
• A swarm of ants are moving busily.一群蚂蚁正在忙碌地搬家。

7 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。

8 obstructing   

阻塞( obstruct的现在分词 )； 堵塞； 阻碍； 阻止

参考例句：

• You can't park here, you're obstructing my driveway. 你不能在这里停车，你挡住了我家的车道。
• He was charged for obstructing the highway. 他因阻碍交通而受控告。

9 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。

10 bragging   

v.自夸，吹嘘( brag的现在分词 )；大话

参考例句：

• He's always bragging about his prowess as a cricketer. 他总是吹嘘自己板球水平高超。 来自辞典例句
• Now you're bragging, darling. You know you don't need to brag. 这就是夸口，亲爱的。你明知道你不必吹。 来自辞典例句

11 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。

12 zoom   

n.急速上升；v.突然扩大，急速上升

参考例句：

• The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。
• I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近，昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。

13 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。

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 minimal   

adj.尽可能少的，最小的

参考例句：

• They referred to this kind of art as minimal art.他们把这种艺术叫微型艺术。
• I stayed with friends, so my expenses were minimal.我住在朋友家，所以我的花费很小。

16 defendants   

被告( defendant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The courts heard that the six defendants had been coerced into making a confession. 法官审判时发现6位被告人曾被迫承认罪行。
• As in courts, the defendants are represented by legal counsel. 与法院相同，被告有辩护律师作为代表。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

17 intimidate   

vt.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• You think you can intimidate people into doing what you want?你以为你可以威胁别人做任何事？
• The first strike capacity is intended mainly to intimidate adversary.第一次攻击的武力主要是用来吓阻敌方的。

18 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

19 assertive   

adj.果断的，自信的，有冲劲的

参考例句：

• She always speaks an assertive tone.她总是以果断的语气说话。
• China appears to have become more assertive in the waters off its coastline over recent years.在近些年，中国显示出对远方海洋的自信。