The teen had to make one of the hardest decisions but he doesn't regret his decision to tip off the FBI.
It is difficult to do the thing we consider right when it hurts someone we love. However, some people have to listen to their moral compass, no matter the consequences. One teenager from Texas, Jackson Reffitt, had to make the hard call of reporting his father to the FBI since he was involved in the capitol riots earlier this year.
Jackson, 18, had contacted the FBI before his father, Guy Reffitt, went to Washington D.C. as he had claimed to do something "big." Guy, 48, has been arrested since then for allegedly being part of the riotous mob that had attacked the US Capitol building on January 6, according to the Independent.
The FBI affidavit says that Guy was linked to an extremist militia group called Three Percenters, and two firearms were recovered from his place at the time of his arrest. Guy's wife told the investigators that he was part of the Three Percenters.
Teen Says He's in Hiding After Turning in Dad Guy Reffitt for Alleged Role in Capitol Riots https://t.co/ntY0B8wwiq
— Inside Edition (@InsideEdition) January 30, 2021
He was arrested on January 16 and faces charges of obstruction of justice and of knowingly entering a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority. He was arrested after video recordings from the day were used to identify him by the authorities, according to the FBI. The federal investigators then got in touch with Jackson, who had sent in a tip about his dad many weeks ago, so he could confirm his father's whereabouts.
NEW: "It was my moral compass," Jackson Reffitt said, after he called the @FBI on his father, Guy Reffitt, for alleged participation in rioting/insurrection at the Capitol Building on Jan. 6. "Traitors get shot," is what the father had reportedly, previously, told his son. @FOX4 pic.twitter.com/LK0GYYklM7
— David Sentendrey (@DavidSFOX4) January 23, 2021
When Guy returned home after the riots, he also threatened his own kids. On January 11, 2021, Jackson and his sister told their mother that during an argument at the house earlier that day, their father said, "If you turn me in, you’re a traitor and you know what happens to traitors...traitors get shot." The 18-year-old and his sister were very "upset" and "disturbed" with his "extreme statements."
*Son of Capitol riot suspect Guy Reffitt tipped FBI about his father weeks earlier.
— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) January 25, 2021
*“I put my emotions behind me to do what I thought was right.” Told FBI his dad planned on “doing something big.”
*Father charged w/ obstruction of justice & other counts.https://t.co/1OEOeRdoeR pic.twitter.com/xG3nFM8Mph
Since then, the teenager has left home and is fearful for his safety. He also spoke to some news organizations and explained why he chose to report his dad. "He would always tell me that he's going to do something big," the teen told The New York Times. "I assumed he was going to do something big, and I didn't know what." Initially, he reported his father to the FBI because he "didn’t know what he was going to do" and so, he did "did anything possible just to be on the safe side."
The dad's reckless actions have broken the family apart with the son too afraid to live with his own family. Jackson is not aware if his father knows what he did. "I am afraid for him to know," he said. "Not for my life or anything, but for what he might think," he added. However, he hopes that their relationship would be repaired one day.
"We’ll get better over time,” he said. “I know we will.” The 18-year-old also added that his mother and two sisters "had no idea what I had done" until they saw him with CNN's Chris Cuomo.
I made the GoFundMe because people wanted it, not because I did. I never imagined people would be so selfless. Thank you guys for every donation and message. I wish I could respond to each one, but KNOW they have been read, ILY guys
— Guy Jackson (@jackson_reffitt) January 25, 2021
When the interview became viral, he accepted on Twitter that he was the person who reported his dad. Eventually, he set up a GoFundMe page after people told him to set one up for himself. "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."
Yes I'm the kid on cnn I'm sorry I probably won't get around to responding to everyone. My mom and my sisters are absolutely ruined about the news from what I did. This is the first they are hearing about my involvement in my dad's arrest. Please send them love in any form.
— Guy Jackson (@jackson_reffitt) January 23, 2021
He also said that he was using his girlfriend's phone since his family disconnected his. He told others who were struggling with whether to report someone close who could be involved in something dangerous, "You’re not just protecting yourself, but you’re protecting them as well."
"I put my emotions behind me to do what I thought was right," he said about informing the FBI about his dad. He doesn't regret his decision and would do it again but he still considers his father his "family, and it's still weird."
References:
https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.226178/gov.uscourts.dcd.226178.1.1.pdf
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/24/us/politics/jackson-reffitt-father-capitol-riot.html?
