Thread by @ryanjreilly

Another day in the first Jan. 6 trial against Capitol attack defendant Guy Reffitt.

Yesterday, we heard from his son, Jackson Reffitt, about the “surreal” experience of tipping off the FBI about his dad.

nbcnews.com/politics/justi…

Dad: "Hold my beer and I'll show you."

Son: "I thought I was going to see something in August."

Dad: “Your first mistake was you thought.”

nbcnews.com/politics/justi…

Son who turned his dad into the FBI: “Yeah you know they are tracking down everyone who was there right?”

Dad who recorded himself talking about committing crimes: “Yeppers."

nbcnews.com/politics/justi…

“I don’t regret it, but it’s a lot,” said Jackson Reffitt. “I don’t have words to really describe it. I think this is the best-case scenario.” nbcnews.com/politics/justi…

The jury is seated. Dan Schwager, the former general counsel to the secretary of the Senate, is now testifying. He's now chief counsel at @weareoversight.

“I am usually the bald guy, yes,” Dan Schwager says, identifying himself in footage of Senate floor.

Paul Wade, a Secret Service supervisory special agent, is up next. His office is at the United States Capitol.

Wade said he believed the security perimeter was adequate to protect Pence on Jan. 6. If he didn’t, they could have raised objections with the Capitol Police.

Wade was dedicated to former First Lady Pence and his daughter Charlotte Pence on Jan. 6.

Wade testified they decided there was “imminent threat” when the Capitol was being breached, and decide to evacuate Pence along with his wife and daughter. They show footage of them fleeing the Senate chamber.

“We added additional agents for his return,” Wade testified. “Just to ensure his safety.”

Pence’s relocation was considered an emergency action, as we relocating the Vice President’s motorcade, and bringing in additional security for his return, Wade testified.

Rocky Hardie, a former member of the Texas Three Percenters who left the group after he got a visit from the FBI in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack, is now testifying.

Hardie says he and Guy Reffitt had similar views.

“We talked about how the country is pretty much going down the tubes,” he testifies. They felt that Nancy Pelosi was one of those ruining the country.

“We pretty much felt like she’s evil incarnate,” Hardie says.

“He felt like the election was stolen,” Hardie says of Guy Reffitt. They were on a messaging chain with other members of the Texas Three Percenters.

Hardie says he also thought the election was stolen, and still does. Says their messaging chats had an “apocalyptic tone.”

Here’s another self-proclaimed Three Percenter being interviewed by the FBI:

https://twitter.com/ryanjreilly/status/1465900933179658245

Rocky Hardie testifies that Guy Reffitt said before Jan. 6 that he wanted to drag people out of Congress, but at the time it “seemed like we were joking around.”

Rocky Hardie, who like many Jan. 6 defendants is extraordinarily bad at estimating crowd sizes, says he thinks there were over a million protesters in D.C. on Jan. 6 (there were not).

Rocky Hardie has a concealed carry license in Texas, and said they researched reciprocity laws. Pretty much every state they were going to travel through had reciprocity, except D.C.

“Well, you’re not going to get a permit in D.C.,” Reffitt said, according to Hardie.

“I think we used the phrase 'It’s better to be tried by a jury of twelve than carried by six,’” Hardie testified.

“We said, okay, we’re wiling to take that risk,” Hardie testified.

Government is now going over the terms of Rocky Hardie’s agreement with the government. Agreement requires him to testify about what he did and what Reffitt did.

He could still be prosecuted, but they can’t use this testimony against him.

Rocky Hardie testifies that he drove to Guy Reffitt’s home, and he transferred things into Reffitt’s vehicle.

Says he had an AR-15, a handgun, and ammo. He put the guns in the cargo area of Guy Reffitt’s Chevy Equinox.

Rocky Hardie says Guy Reffitt assisted him with breaking down his AR. Hardie says he saw Guy Reffitt’s handgun in D.C., but not specifically in Texas because it was concealed.

“We talked about ‘gotta get the bastards out of there,’” on the trip to D.C., he testifies.

Rocky Hardie said he assumed it would be “impossible” to get close to the Capitol, because his impression from watching television was that it was extremely secure.

Before they arrived in D.C., they stopped in Virginia and put their handguns and ammo under lock and key. Guy Reffitt was driving at the time and pulled over the car, Hardie testifies.