- Title: Supporters of Jan. 6 defendants hold nightly vigil outside D.C. jail
- Date: 6th January 2025
- Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (JANUARY 05, 2025)(REUTERS) POSTERS OUTSIDE D.C. JAIL WHICH INCLUDE A PICTURE OF ASHLI BABBITT WHO WAS SHOT DEAD BY POLICE DURING JANUARY 6. U.S. CAPITOL RIOT FLAG SWAYING IN THE WIND THAT READS 'NEVER FORGET JANUARY 6, 2021' VIEW OF D.C. JAIL PERSON TALKING OUTSIDE D.C. JAIL POSTER READING "J6 FREEDOM" WITH NAMES AND NUMBERS NICOLE REFFITT, WIFE OF GUY REFFITT WHO WAS CONVICTED AND IS IN A PRISON IN MISSOURI FOR HIS ROLE IN STORMING THE U.S. CAPITOL ON JANUARY 6TH, SPEAKING AT NIGHTLY VIGIL (SOUNDBITE)(English) NICOLE REFFITT, WIFE OF GUY REFFITT WHO WAS CONVICTED AND IN PRISON FOR FOR HIS ROLE IN STORMING THE U.S. CAPITOL ON JANUARY 6TH, SAYING: "Well, you know, I mean, there's a lot of healing that has to be done. My husband's been incarcerated since January 16th of 2021. And, you know, they took him from our home that morning in a pre-dawn raid. And I didn't see him again for 14 months, you know, and he was the primary breadwinner. It was it was a very traumatic situation and polarizing being J6er in the beginning. And, you know, we've really developed a community here. So I believe with all of us together going forward will be able to not only heal but enact a lot of change that we've seen that's happened inside of the Bureau of Prisons. You know, the Department of Justice, some things you see you just can't unsee. And a lot of us have been really eye-opening this experience." SUPPORTER SPEAKING AT NIGHTLY VIGIL (SOUNDBITE)(English) NICOLE REFFITT, WIFE OF GUY REFFITT WHO WAS CONVICTED AND IN PRISON FOR FOR HIS ROLE IN STORMING THE U.S. CAPITOL ON JANUARY 6TH, SAYING: "Well, you know, we'll see. We'll see how that plays out. You know, I know that Trump is very a man, a very much a man of his word. So I believe that he will follow through on good action when it comes to J6ers." JAMIE CROWE, SUPPORTER, HOLDING OUT A FLAG READING 'OPERATION FREEDOM J6 UNITED WE STAND' (SOUNDBITE)(English) JAMIE CROWE, SUPPORTER, SAYING: "President Trump signed this Labor Day two years ago and he promised me I quote 'everything will be ok'." (SOUNDBITE)(English) JAMIE CROWE, SUPPORTER, SAYING: "For 800 and some days Micki Witthoeft [Mother of Ashli Babbitt who was shot dead by police during January 6th Capitol attack] has been out in this corner with patriots to support January 6 because Ashli Babbitt was killed that day. So she she stands on this corner every night from 7 to 9. And at 9:00 we sing the national anthem. We get to talk prisoners. The prisoners will call out here during the night and we will talk to them and they will pray and they will tell us what's happening. And appreciate all the patriots that support J6." WHITE FLASH (SOUNDBITE)(English) JAMIE CROWE, SUPPORTER, SAYING: "I will support my Mama Micki. I will support all patriots and I'll support all J6 across the country because they they were at the People's House. It was not an insurrection. It was the people going to the Capitol to voice their opinion." SUPPORTER SHOWING OFF HER BAG WIDE OF SUPPORTERS OUTSIDE THE D.C. JAIL SPEAKING AND LISTENING
- Embargoed: 20th January 2025 10:40
- Keywords: Capitol Hill Capitol Hill riot Congress D.C. jail J6 January 6th January 6th supporters
- Location: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
- City: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
- Country: US
- Topics: North America,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA001106306012025RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Supporters of people who were charged in the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack on Sunday (January 5) held their nightly vigil outside a D.C. jail in an area they call 'Freedom Corner'.
Nicole Reffitt's husband Guy Reffitt, an associate of the far-right Three Percenters militia group, was sentenced to 7.25 years in prison for his role in storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and for later threatening to harm his own children if they ratted him out to the FBI. He was resentenced last month and was able to lower his original sentence by 7 months less.
Nicole Reffitt said her husband was taken from their home in East Texas after the Capitol riot and she hadn't seen him again for 14 months after that. Reffitt's husband is currently in a facility in Springfield, Missouri, but she said he was one of the first to go to trial in front of a jury in Washington, D.C. She said she has 'really developed a community' with other supporters outside the D.C. jail. The vigil has been going on for more than 800 days now.
A supporter who was not able to make it on Sunday is the mother of Ashli Babbitt, the U.S. Air Force veteran who was shot dead by police during U.S. Capitol attack. Babbitt's mother, Micki Witthoeft, has frequently attended the nightly vigils and is known as 'Mama Micki'.
Last month President-elect Donald Trump said in an interview with NBC News' "Meet the Press with Kristen Welker" that he would act on his first day in office to pardon rioters involved in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack, further building expectations for a broad granting of clemency.
Trump told Welker that there could be "some exceptions" to his pardons if the individuals had acted "radical" or "crazy" during the assault, which left more than 140 police officers injured and led to several deaths.
But Trump described the prosecutions of his supporters as inherently corrupt and did not rule out pardoning the more than 900 defendants who had already pleaded guilty, including those accused of acting violently in the attack.
(Production: Greg Savoy, Colette Luke) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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