Son Tipped Off F.B.I. About His Father, Who Is Charged in Capitol Riot

Authored by nytimes.com and submitted by ImJustaNJrefugee
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“I didn’t know what he was going to do, so I just did anything possible just to be on the safe side,” he added.

The elder Mr. Reffitt, who was arrested on Jan. 16, faces charges of obstruction of justice and of knowingly entering a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority. He could not be reached on Sunday, and it was not immediately clear whether he had a lawyer. The F.B.I. was not immediately available for comment on Sunday.

Mr. Reffitt said he was unsure if his father knew yet that he had reported him to the federal authorities.

“I am afraid for him to know,” he said. “Not for my life or anything, but for what he might think.” But he said he was hopeful that his relationship with his father could be repaired.

“We’ll get better over time,” he said. “I know we will.”

He said his mother and two sisters “had no idea what I had done” until they saw a CNN interview he did with Chris Cuomo.

After the interview gained traction online, Mr. Reffitt said on Twitter, “Yes I’m the kid on cnn.”

The tweet garnered thousands of likes and retweets, and he said he was flooded with messages asking him to set up a GoFundMe, so he did.

“Every penny is another course in college or me saving it for years to come,” he wrote on the crowdfunding platform. “I might be kicked out of my house due to my involvement in my dad’s case, so every cent might help me survive.”

bricked_machine on January 26th, 2021 at 14:43 UTC »

Then his father leveled a threat: If Jackson, 18, reported him to the police, he would have no choice but to do his “duty” for his country and “do what he had to do.”

In interviews with investigators, Jackson Reffitt said his father told him: “If you turn me in, you’re a traitor. And you know what happens to traitors. Traitors get shot.”

Oh man. Threatening to shoot his own son because Trump apparently is more important to him. What a shitstain. I hope his prison sentence is long and arduous.

pissedoffnobody on January 26th, 2021 at 12:45 UTC »

"You're grounded!"

"I'll do you one better than that, old man... hello, FBI? I want to report a crime...."