(Mike Osborne) — Federal prosecutors this week won their first case against a rioter charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. However, 15 months after the Capitol was breached, few of the 22 Tennesseans charged in connection with the riot have seen their cases resolved.
It took a federal jury just three hours this week to convict Texas resident Guy Wesley Reffitt on all six of the riot charges against him. However, just two of the Tennesseans arrested following the Capitol attack have had their cases resolved.
Late last year, Gallatin residents Eric Chase Torrens and Jesse Jack Griffith signed plea agreements with federal prosecutors. Both men were then sentenced to 36 months probation and 90 days home confinement.
Five of the Tennessee defendants have pleaded not guilty to the federal charges and are awaiting trial. Six have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.
Records show four of the 22 Tennessee riot defendants are considered a flight or public safety risk and remain in federal custody.