Texas man who stormed Capitol accused of threat to shoot children if they turned him in

A Texas man who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 was arrested and accused of having threatened to shoot his children if they told authorities that he had gone to Washington, D.C., according to federal court documents released Monday.

According to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, the man, Guy Reffitt, was charged with obstruction of justice and knowingly entering a restricted building without lawful authority.

In an affidavit, an FBI agent described Reffitt as an apparent militia member who traveled from suburban Dallas to Washington with a Smith & Wesson pistol to help "protect his country."

In an interview with the FBI, Reffitt's son said his father told his family that he had gone to the Capitol while wearing a GoPro camera attached to a helmet.

Reffitt is alleged to have later threatened to "put a bullet through" his daughter's cellphone if she recorded or mentioned his comments on social media, the affidavit says.

Reffitt's wife told investigators that during an argument, he told his children that if one of them turned him in, "you're a traitor and you know what happens to traitors ... traitors get shot."

His wife, who said Reffitt was a member of the far-right 3 Percenters militia group, added that he is prone to "extreme" statements and that she did not believe he would act on his words, the affidavit says.

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The affidavit mentions videos from Reuters and Fox News that captured Reffitt at the Capitol wearing a black helmet and a tactical vest and appearing to flush his eyes out with water.

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Reffitt, who was arrested Saturday, told agents that he went to the Capitol on Jan. 6 but did not go inside.

Court records do not say whether Reffitt has an attorney. A message left at a phone number listed under his name was not immediately returned.

Reffitt and dozens of other people have been arrested or charged after a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol. Others are a New Jersey Army reservist with access to a cache of military supplies and a Pennsylvania woman who is accused of planning to steal a laptop computer from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office and sell it to Russian intelligence.

A law enforcement official said Sunday that the number of open cases related to the riot topped 300.

Five people died because of the riot, including Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick.

CORRECTION (Jan. 19, 2021, 9:20 p.m. ET): A previous version of this article misspelled the first name of the Capitol Police officer who was killed during the riot at the Capitol. He is Brian Sicknick, not Bryan.