By Jan Wolfe

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – A Texas man was convicted Tuesday for participating in an attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 by ex-Trump supporters. This is a landmark victory for federal prosecutors and the first case of its kind to be tried before a jury.

Guy Reffitt was found guilty of all five felony charges against him, which included bringing a firearm onto Capitol grounds and obstruction to an official proceeding.

Reffitt was a key test case for the U.S. Justice Department as it tries to convict the hundreds of defendants that haven’t accepted plea bargains.

After just two hours of deliberate, the Washington federal jury returned the unanimous verdict.

Reffitt did not enter the Capitol. However, video shows him leading others up stairs and cheering the crowd.

Reffitt, wearing a bulletproof vest, helmet and other protective gear, continued up the stairs despite police officers pepper-balling him and spraying him with chemical warfare.

Reffitt repeatedly encouraged rioters in a video clip that was played to jurors for Nancy Pelosi, House of Representatives Speaker, and other legislators out of Capitol building.

“I didn’t come here to play — I’m taking the Capitol,” the video showed Reffitt saying at one point. “I only want to watch Pelosi hit every stairway on his way out,”

Reffitt (49) was accused by authorities of having threatened his children with bodily harm if they surrendered him to police after the attack.

Jackson Reffitt was Reffitt’s estranged boy, and he turned him into the FBI. Jackson testified against Reffitt during Reffitt’s week-long trial. Jackson Reffitt testified that he said to Jackson, “If you turn in my father, you are a traitor.” “And traitors get killed.”

Around 200 of the defendants have pleaded guilty so far to the charges. The attack left lawmakers fleeing for their life. Reffitt’s case was a test case for the U.S. Justice Department as it tries to convict the many defendants that haven’t accepted plea agreements.

These men face charges that range from unlawful picketing, to seditious plot. 11 Oath Keepers associates were arrested in January.

On Jan. 6, 2021 thousands stormed Capitol after Trump’s fiery speech, in which he claimed that his defeat had been due to widespread fraud. This assertion was rejected by numerous courts and state election officials, as well as members of Trump’s own administration.