Thread by @JordanOnRecord

Good morning all. Testimony resumes shortly in the trial of Guy Reffitt. We learned this morning the prosecution will NOT call his youngest daughter, Peyton, to testify. DOJ now expected to wrap its case by lunch.

https://twitter.com/JordanOnRecord/status/1499853071626743816

Meanwhile, Guy Reffitt's attorney says he still plans to call no witnesses. Unclear if Reffitt himself will take the stand.

https://twitter.com/NathanBacaTV/status/1500837184810754049?s=20&t=NmaoPF2C6E4Kc960Ad-C1Q

The first witness of the day is U.S. Capitol Police Sgt. Adam DesCamp. He was one of three officers who helped repel Guy Reffitt from the Capitol on January 6.

DesCamp says he's been w/ USCP for 16 years. Is now the Senate Division supervisor.

We heard much of what DesCamp will testify to on the first day of the trial, when his partner, former USCP Officer Shauni Kerkhoff testified. DesCamp was part of the civil disturbance unit on January 6 and was carrying an FN-303 projectile launcher. wusa9.com/article/news/n…

Sgt. DesCamp says on January 6, the department ordered the USCP's less-than-lethal team to "launch." DesCamp says it was the first time the department has EVER deployed its less-than-lethal weapons.

DesCamp says he saw rioters tearing the scaffolding around the inaugural stage apart, ripping and cutting the tarp with knives. A portion of that tarp was later used to shield Reffitt and others from USCP officers' O.C. spray.

DesCamp says when he arrived at the landing on the steps near the Senate Wing, he saw Guy Reffitt already confronting Officer Shauni Kerkhoff. Says Reffitt was telling her, "Don't be a traitor."

Every time a witness identifies Guy Reffitt in court he lowers his mask and looks at them. He does it again for Sgt. DesCamp.

As we've heard before, the pepperball launcher Officer Kerkhoff was using didn't have any effect on Guy Reffitt, who was wearing level III ballistic plating. Sgt. DesCamp's FN-303 projectile launcher also didn't stop him. wusa9.com/article/news/n…

Sgt. DesCamp says once he saw the FN-303 launcher wasn't having any effect, he called for pepper spray. Another officer, Sgt. Matthew Flood, responded with a 9 oz. canister of spray. That slowed Guy Reffitt down, but eventually they had to deploy a 46 oz. canister.

DesCamp describes the Mk. 46 pepper spray canister as "fire extinguisher-sized." I was in the court on Wednesday when the jury saw the canister, and they definitely noticed just how large it is.

Sgt. Matthew Flood, who deployed the Mk. 46 O.C. spray canister against Guy Reffitt, will be the next and penultimate witness in the case. Sgt. DesCamp still on the stand, explaining how the stairway Reffitt was on led directly to the Senate Wing of the building.

Jurors seeing a video, shot by one of the rioters, showing Sgt. DesCamp standing alone blocking entrance to the podium where the inauguration would be held. It's just him in a small doorway standing off against hundreds of people.

The video pans over for a moment and you can see "QAnon Shaman" Jacob Chansley in the crowd. He was easily the most-mentioned part of the riot by prospective jurors last week.

Sgt. DesCamp says the rioters knocked his mask aside and sprayed him with WD-40 and bear spray.

DesCamp says the crowd pressed up against him and took apart his FN-303 launcher, which was slung against the front of his body. That left him with just his baton and pepper spray.

William Welch, Guy Reffitt's attorney, cross-examining now.

"Mr. Reffitt never touched you, did he? Mr. Reffitt never threw anything at you? Mr. Reffitt never touched Officer Kerkhoff? Mr. Reffitt never threw anything at Officer Kerkhoff?"

DesCamp says correct to all.

"When you were pushed by the crowd, Mr. Reffitt was not pushing you?"

"No," DesCamp says.

"When the crowd pushed your mask back, Mr. Reffitt wasn't the person pushing you, was he?"

"No."

"When somebody sprayed you with bear spray, that was not Mr. Reffitt, was it?" Welch asks.

"No," DesCamp says.

"When your FN-303 was disassembled, that was not Mr. Reffitt, was it?"

"No."

"Mr. Reffitt did not try to disarm Officer Kerkhoff? He did not try to disarm you? He did not try to disarm Sgt. Flood?"

"No," DesCamp says.

"Mr. Reffitt did not threaten you, did he?" Welch asks.

"It was implied, 'You can't stop us all.' No direct threats,'" DesCamp says.

"But, Mr. Reffitt didn't listen when he was told to get back?" Welch asks.

"Correct," DesCamp says.

"You did not see Mr. Reffitt break anything? You did not se Mr. Reffitt take anything?" Welch asks.

"No," DesCamp says.

Welch passes witness back.

AUSA Risa Berkower back up, asking about the implied threats.

DesCamp says Reffitt told them "don't be a traitor" and "you can't stop us all."

Berkower asks if the people who *did* assault DesCamp came from the crowd Reffitt was leading. DesCamp says yes.

Witness excused.

I was wrong about the next witness. It's FBI Special Agent Thomas Ryan, the lead Washington agent on Guy Reffitt's case. He'll explain the geolocation data in the case.

Jurors seeing a map of the movement of Guy Reffitt's phone on January 6. The map shows he started the day at the Melrose Georgetown Hotel and eventually made his way to the Ellipse, and then to the U.S. Capitol Building.

Special Agent Ryan says the cellphone data shows Reffitt was at the Capitol from a little before 2 p.m. until around 3 p.m. Showing another map now displaying his travel to and from D.C. from Wylie, Texas.

Special Agent Ryan now reading Mayor Muriel Bowser's curfew order from January 6.

AUSA Jeffrey Nestler reads off a stipulation about Safeway stores closing their stores early on January 6 and losing ~18% of projected revenue on that day. Also not being able to get shipments after 4 p.m. due to the curfew. Necessary for the interstate commerce factor.

Welch asks Special Agent Ryan how many people have now been arrested in the #CapitolRiot case. Ryan doesn't know the exact number.

Per @gwupoe's count, it's now at 754.

Welch asks Ryan if Jackson Reffitt did a CNN interview and started a GoFundMe for himself. Ryan says he did.

Welch passes the witness.

DOJ has one witness left, USCP Sgt. Matthew Flood. Expected to take ~45 minutes. After that, the DOJ will rest its case. Welch isn't calling any witnesses, but will file a Rule 29 motion for acquittal arguing, essentially, the DOJ presented insufficient evidence.

DOJ's final witness, USCP Sgt. Matthew Flood, on the stand now. He's the supervisor with the department's first responder unit.

Flood says not all of the USCP civil disturbance unit officers had grenadier backpacks because the department didn't have enough. After the riot, we learned a lot about the quality of USCP's equipment, including helmets so old the padding was rotting. wusa9.com/article/news/n…

Sgt. Flood says when he arrived on the Senate side steps, Officer Shauni Kerkhoff told him the person in the blue jacket was a problem. Flood identifies Guy Reffitt in court as the man in the blue jacket.

Sgt. Flood says the crowd was audibly and visibly upset when he pepper sprayed Guy Reffitt. The jury has already heard Reffitt, in his own words, said his encounter with police was what fired up the crowd and pushed them forward.

After spraying Reffitt with pepper spray, Sgt. Flood says he thought a hand-to-hand battle with the mob was imminent. He pulled out his baton and prepared to fight.

At this same time, the DOJ says, Reffitt can be seen on video waving the mob forward.

Sgt. Flood says at this point, the mob was "angry, loud, violent." Every time Guy Reffitt took a step forward, the crowd would fill in behind him.

As Guy Reffitt waves the mob on, rioters begin to engage with police, throw objects at them and douse them with pepper spray.

A flashbang can be heard going off in the video. Sgt. Flood says USCP officers don't have flashbangs, so he assumed it was coming from a rioter.

Bill Welch cross examining now.

Asks if Guy Reffitt sat down after he pepper sprayed him. Sgt. Flood says yes.

Now repeating the "did Reffit touch you" line of questioning Sgt. DesCamp also received.

You didn't shoot Guy Reffitt, Welch asks, essentially.

No, Flood says.

"From your perspective, did the defendant appear to be part of the crowd coming up the stairs?" AUSA Nestler asks.

Yes, Sgt. Flood says. Nestler asks what Reffitt appeared to be doing.

"He was leading them up the stairs," Flood says.

At 11:41 a.m., the government rests its case against Guy Reffitt.

Jurors now excused for a long break while the judge and lawyers finish up jury instructions.

Bill Welch now orally filing his Rule 29 motion to acquit. Judge Friedrich asks if he wants to make any arguments now. Welch asks to speak on the husher phone.

Bill Welch is arguing the DOJ needs to identify a *specific* rioter who Guy Reffitt aided and abetted, versus the huge crowd he waved on. Judge Friedrich says she's not sure if she buys that.

Judge Friedrich talking to Guy Reffitt now. Says she understands he does not intend to testify, but wants to make sure he knows he has a constitutional right to testify, if he wants to.

Reffitt says he understands and does not want to testify.

Judge Friedrich says Welch's Rule 29 motion will be made available later today. She's not going to rule on it until after the jury returns a verdict.

In short, when jurors come back they'll get their instructions and then hearing closing arguments:

- 45 minutes for prosecution
- 15 minutes for Bill Welch

Then jurors will get a few more instructions before they go home for the day. Deliberations will start at 9:30 a.m. Tues.

Welch's closing will, I think, boil down to this:

Yes, my client committed a crime. That crime was trespassing. He never touched any officers. He never went inside. Those words he said were just puffing up his feathers. The prosecution is overzealous and politically motivated.