Thread by @ZoeTillman

Hello from the DC federal courthouse, where Day 3 of the first Jan. 6 trial is getting underway.

From last night: We have a jury.
buzzfeednews.com/article/zoetil…

This a.m.: Meet Legend, who took over as the courthouse's bomb-sniffing dog during covid, can confirm she is a very good dog

Once the jury is brought in, we'll start with the government's opening presentation to the jury, from AUSA Jeffrey Nestler (AUSA Risa Berkower handled voir dire). Reffitt's lawyer William Welch told the judge he's also planning to give an opening statement

Judge Dabney Friedrich is on the bench and they've just brought in the jury — unlike a pre-pandemic trial, they're seated spaced throughout the courtroom gallery (versus in the box)

The judge has been giving the jurors an overview of how the trial work and the general rules, and in instructing them not to read any news about the case or seek outside information, delivers yet another warning about adjusting push notification settings

AUSA Jeffrey Nestler is up: "On Jan 6 of 2021, the United States Capitol, a heart of democracy in our country, the massive white bldg across the street from where you're sitting right now, was attacked by a mob in what was the worst assault on the Capitol since the war of 1812"

Nestler: "This mob was determined to physically prevent Congress from meeting inside the Capitol building that afternoon. A mob needs leaders. And this man, Guy Wesley Reffitt of Wylie, Texas, drove all the way from ... Texas to DC to step up and fulfill that role."

Nestler displays a photo of Reffitt at the Capitol in a blue jacket, telling the jury he was carrying a holstered handgun, and led the mob up the stairs to "overwhelm" police and storm the building: "The defendant was the tip of this mob's spear"

Nestler provides a brief overview of the structure of Congress, touches on Reffitt's membership in the Texas Three Percenters and how he tried to recruit others to come to DC, that he told his family about plans to come to DC (and teenage son's role in sending a tip to the FBI)

Many ppl were upset about the election, Nestler said, what set Reffitt apart were the actions he took. Nestler introduces the other TX Three Percenter that traveled with Reffitt to DC and will get immunity to testify, Rocky Hardy

Nestler recites some of the comments Reffitt was recorded making on the camera he wore on his head to the Capitol, apologizes in advance for the language:
"We're taking the Capitol before the day is over, ripping them out by their hair, every fucking one of them."

More from Nestler:
"Dragging them out kicking and fucking screaming."
"I just want to see Pelosi’s head hitting every fucking stair on the way out, and Mitch McConnell too"
"I'm packing heat and ... I am going to that fucking building and I am dragging them the fuck out"

Nestler is laying out a theory that Reffitt was more than a participant, but a leader. He says that as USCP used crowd control devices (pepperball, projectile launcher, OC spray), Reffitt was not deterred, showing off for the crowd, as he took a step forward, crowd did too

Nestler says that although Reffitt didn't go further beyond the Capitol stairs outside, since he was "reeling" from encounter w/ USCP, "his work was done" — he showed the way and created opportunity to overwhelm police, all while having a handgun on his waist

Nestler now describes how after Jan. 6, Reffitt talked about his experience at the Capitol on a zoom with other Texas Three Percenters, how he had a gun, "They are lucky we didn’t shoot them, they really need to be grateful"

Nestler says after Reffitt returned from DC, he was worried about being watched as arrests started post-Jan. 6, told children they'd be traitors if they turned him in, and "traitors get shot," told 16-yr-old that if she was sharing info, he'd "put a bullet" through her phone

Nestler has finished, ending by saying Reffitt himself made it "easy" to conclude that he was guilty

Next up is Reffitt's lawyer William Welch, he begins by saying the evidnece won't show that Reffitt assaulted anyone or helped commit an assault, helped anyone disarm police, interfered w/ arrest; says he didn't threaten harm, wasn't aggressive

Welch says that Reffitt was hit by pepperballs/projectiles/pepper spray, and once he was sprayed, that was "the end of it." Reffitt does brag, he exaggerates, he uses "a lot of hyperbole" and that upsets people, Welch says

Welch's opening statement was very short, they're taking a short break before the first witness

One other notable thing from Welch — he told the jury that Reffitt was not armed, setting up a dispute over whether the black object seen on Reffitt's hip was, as the govt contends, a handgun in a holster

They govt's first witness is former US Capitol Police officer Shauni Kerkhoff. Before the jury is brought in Nestler explains that Kerkhoff be showing non-lethal weapons used by officers, but since she's no longer w/ USCP, another officer will be there who is handling them

A USCP officer has entered the courtroom carrying a backback full of ~ stuff ~ a dark handle of something was sticking out

Witness #1, former USCP officer Shauni Kerkhoff is up (she says she left for another position for reasons unrelated to Jan. 6), she had a collateral assignment to the civil disturbance unit, as a grenadier, used a "launcher" on the "less than lethal" team

The judge had warned they were having tech issues with exhibits, and it appears that is indeed proving to be a problem, since the first exhibit isn't showing up on screens in the courtroom (or in the media room)

Okay it appears they've worked out the screen issue in the courtroom so they're going forward with the witness (we still can't see the exhibits from where we are, but have been told they'll try to work on this problem during the lunch break)

Annnd they've stopped again once the govt makes the judge aware that the exhibits aren't being displayed in the overflow rooms

Annnd the judge is going to stop and take the hour lunch break now to try to figure all this out, back at 1pm with Kerkhoff's testimony

We're back from the lunch break, it appears they've worked out the issue with having the exhibits show up in the public overflow rooms as well as in the courtroom, so they'll resume with former USCP officer Shauni Kerkhoff (of the "less than lethal" team)

AUSA Nestler tries to play a recording of the audio file of USCP radio activity on Jan. 6, but they can't really hear it in the courtroom (or in here) so... they're going to come back to it

Kerkhoff says she was on the east side of the Capitol when they got a call for assistance on the west side. Asked how she got there, says she tried to go through the building, but then it was locked down, so officers had to go back out on the east and run around the north side

Kerkhoff says that by the time she reached the west side of the Capitol, stationed on a stage area in the center, she saw a crowd of people "infringing upon the security perimeter." Asked to describe the crowd, she said "it was violent"

Kerkhoff says she was carrying a pepperball launcher in her hands (she initially says it was slung but then corrected herself, saying it didn't have a strap). Nestler is now having her describe a 3-D map model of the stairs on the west side of the Capitol

What did Kerkhoff see? "A sea of people."
What did she think? "That we were outnumbered."
Did that concern her? "Very much so."
Why? "We were the only thing standing between thousands of these people and the Congress."
How did crowd seem? "Angry" and "violent"

Kerkhoff says she had an interaction with a man in a blue jacket and tactical helmet who was holding a megaphone, identifies Reffitt in the courtroom as that person

AUSA is now showing surveillance footage from outside the Capitol. Kerkhoff describes how Reffitt, in a blue jacket, starts to move up the stairs (there's no audio), does not follow her commands to stop, she's deployng the pepperball launcher but it didn't seem to affect him

In the video, Reffitt is at the front of a crowd. He's pointing at officers, gesturing to the crowd, slowly moving up one step at a time and then pausing, standing wide-legged, more pointing, gesturing back to the crowd. Kerkhoff says pepperball/projectiles weren't having effect

Kerkhoff says that "every time he took a step, they took a step," referring to Reffitt and the crowd behind him. "It was becoming a dire situation." Another officer moves towards Reffitt spraying a canister of OC spray, Reffitt puts a hand up and puts his head down

They continue playing the surveillance video, after Reffitt is sprayed, he takes another step up but is rubbing his face. As another officer takes out a large canister of OC spray, Reffitt is making a sweeping motion with his arm, Kerkhoff says he was waving crowd to go past him

Reffitt stays where he is, hunched over, and continues to make the sweeping motion with his arm. Members of the crowd behind him pull up a tarp hanging over a structure next to the stairs as orange chemical spray is deployed by another officer

Kerkhoff says the crowd was calling the officers traitors, that we were in their way, to get out of their way, that they supported us and now we were betraying them. She says it made her "angry": "It's my job to stand in their way."

Kerkhoff is explaining her approach to using a pepperball launcher. Starts by aiming at the ground to get the chemical in the air. If that doesn't work, she aims for "meaty areas" on a person's body where they can handle more pain. If that doesn't work? "I target bony areas."

She estimates she fired 40-50 projectiles at Reffitt (targeting chest, shins, thighs) but they didn't seem to make an impact, she says he seemed to be padded, either wearing layers of clothes or a vest

TIL the amount of hurt a crowd control weapon inflicts w/ goal of making someone stop doing what they're doing is referred to as "pain compliance" — Kerkhoff says pepperballs have less "pain compliance" than objects that come from a different projectile launcher used

Nestler is showing more videos (from Reuters and cell phone in the crowd, per govt exhibit list filed), can see Kerkhoff more clearly, she's wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap, holding a pepperball launcher

The audio isn't very loud, but unlike the surveillance footage you can hear more of the crowd noise, chants of "USA USA USA," booing when an officer deploys a canister of OC spray towards Reffitt

Nestler plays audio of USCP radio dispatches. He asks Kerkhoff to describe her voice, she says, "panicked." We hear her say:
"We need backup."
"They’re coming up the stairs. They’re coming up the stairs on the west side."

The audio file includes other officers/dispatcher communicating, we hear another male voice yelling: "We need every single unit on the upper west terrace right now"

This is all happening starting at around 1:47pm, per surveillance footage timestamp

Judge is taking a short break

We're back on with Kerkhoff's testimony. She's continuing to narrate videos that show the officers' confrontation with the man ID'd by the govt as Reffitt on a stairway on the west side of the Capitol

You can see more clearly here that Reffitt has been standing on a banister, and not the steps. After he gets hit with chemical spray, he's seen sitting down rubbing his face as he makes the sweeping gesture towards the crowd with his right arm

Seeing more surveillance footage post-chemical spray. Reffitt is sitting on the railing, members of crowd seen pulling back tarp on scaffolding for the inauguration stage, a few go past Reffitt up the stairs, appear to have a violent clash with police near the top

Nestler shows another video taken from somewhere below the stairs, also when Reffitt is sitting on the railing, can see more members of the crowd climbing up onto the stairs, another angle on the fight near the top, a man sprays something at the officers and they retreat back

Back to surveillance footage, can see other members of the crowd going through an opening in the tarp. Kerkhoff says there was then a skirmish with officers because people had found another way to get to the bldg through that tarp-covered scaffolding, Reffitt cont'd waving ppl on

Jury sees video of Reffitt washing his eyes, the mob taking down the tarp and moving through the scaffolding. Reffitt at one point gets down from the railing onto the stairs, later the crowd is seen coming through scaffolding and pushing past the officers at the top of the stairs

Later in surveillance footage, Kerkhoff IDs Reffitt (now with no helmet) continuing to move up the steps towards the Capitol, pausing briefly to again wash out his eyes before moving with the crowd; jumping ahead, Kerkhoff IDs Reffitt now going down the stairs away from bldg

Kerkhoff confirms she had her service weapon with her. Asked if the crowd's presence affected her decision whether to use the gun or not, she said she was operating on the assumption others were armed and was afraid of a "shootout"

That concludes direct questioning by Nestler, William Welch is now cross examining Kerkhoff

Welch begins by asking Kerkhoff if it's true she didn't remember specifics of what Reffitt says he said to her at the Capitol, she says that's right

Welch asks Kerkhoff about an email she wrote to AUSA Nestler summarizing her experience that day, notes she doesn't mention Reffitt (she says she didn't know his name at the time) or a description of him (she says she mentioned the crowd, he was one of many she encountered)

Welch has Kerkhoff describe the rest of her actions on Jan. 6, she talks about going inside, helping to clear offices, push people out, secure the building. Welch each time asks if she saw Reffitt, she says she didn't recall seeing him (he's not charged w/ going inside)

Kerkhoff had prev. talked about experiencing pepper spray herself, she says it was part of training. Welch asks if she could see after being sprayed, she said it was difficult, had to open her eyes to secure her service weapon/see adversary

Welch pushed her to explain the decision not to use her service weapon, Kerkhoff says it's hard to say after the fact. AUSA Nestler gets back up, asks her why it's hard, she says there are so many factors you have to consider in the moment

Re: the email to Nestler with her summary of the day, Nestler asks why she wrote that, Kerkhoff says it was originally meant for a supervisor b/c they were maybe submitting officers for an award, wasn't prepared for the criminal investigation, later forwarded to Nestler

Kerkhoff is finished, next witness is USCP Inspector Monique Moore (Friedrich says she'd like to finish with testimony today by 4:30)

Moore has been with the US Capitol Police for 24 years, Nestler has her list all her positions as she moved up in rank

Moore is providing a general description of the Capitol complex and the layout of the building, and the normal security protocols that people have to follow to get inside

Nestler asks Moore about the mood on Jan. 6 among USCP where she was: "The mood was in disbelief of what we were seeing, because this was…" she stops, visibly emotional, patting her chest. She takes a tissue, wipes her eyes, continues to talk about the disbelief in the room

Moore says it was the first time in her 24 years seeing something like this, starts to cry again as she says it was hard to hear officers "screaming for help," knowing it was her job (she was in the command center) to get all the resources so they could get out

Nestler is now showing a series of clips of surveillance footage starting at 2pm documenting the breach on different sides of the Capitol, as mob moves past security perimeter and approaches different entry points to the building, Moore is narrating

Jury seeing footage taken from camera inside the building shortly after 2pm showing people banging on windows, breaking windows, climbing through broken windows, kicking open doors to let others in, crowd streaming in. "That is the breach of the Capitol," Moore says

Jury sees surveillance footage of confrontation in a hallway between Officer Eugene Goodman + other officers and members of the mob. The videos are jumping around to different locations around the building, Nestler is moving chronologically as various areas are breached

Nestler has a bit more to show/talk through with Moore, but Friedrich wanted to stop at 4:30, so they're going to finish up her testimony tomorrow

"The tip of the mob's spear."

On Day 3 of the first Jan. 6 trial – featuring openings and two witnesses – and what we learned about how the government intends to make its case:
buzzfeed.com/zoetillman/guy…