By Jan Wolfe

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Prosecutors are likely to receive a flood of guilty pleas by some of the hundreds of individuals charged in the attack on the U.S. Capitol. This is after the second criminal trial linked to the riot concluded on Tuesday with a quick guilty verdict. Legal experts stated that this was the most recent wave of guilty pleas.

Just two hours later, Guy Reffitt, Texas, was found guilty by a Washington, D.C. juror on five of the five charges against him for his involvement in Trump’s Jan. 6, 2021, violence. This included the bringing a weapon onto the Capitol grounds, and hindering an official proceeding. His sentence could be as high as 20 years.

Jessica Levinson from Loyola Law School, Los Angeles said that “This is an important win for prosecutors.” Prepare for floods of plea agreements from Jan. 6 defendants.

In its efforts to prevent President Joe Biden’s victory certification, the U.S. Justice Department has gained some momentum during the week.

Reffitt was found guilty by prosecutors on the same day that Enrique Tarrio (the former chair of the right-wing Proud Boys) was charged with conspiracy for helping to plan and direct the attack. However, he wasn’t present at the Capitol.

Joshua James, one the Oath Keepers members charged with seditious conspiration for their role in the attack was also charged during Reffitt’s seven-day-long trial. He pleaded guilty.

Nearly 800 are being held responsible for criminal offenses arising from the Jan. More than 200 have already pleaded guilty rather than invoke their constitutional right to a jury trial — a common move in the U.S. legal system that typically results in a lighter punishment.

Reffitt, the Jan. 6 first defendant to play the dice at a trial. Experts say the risk is high because of the wealth of video evidence prosecutors possess and the fact that jurors in District of Columbia will not be supportive of Jan.6 defendants.

Randall Eliason (a former federal prosecutor, now at George Washington University Law School) said, “If there was other Jan.6 rioters who weren’t sure whether they should roll the dice or go to trial,”

I expect that this will encourage additional defendants, to plead guilty to the charges and to cooperate with government officials.”

DEFENDANT’S HELMET-CAM

Because of the number of media present at the scene, and the numerous participants who shared photos and videos online of their actions, the Capitol Attack has been called the greatest documented crime.

Reffitt (49) walked the Capitol grounds wearing a helmet-mounted camera. Prosecutors showed jurors footage from that camera.

Reffitt repeatedly exhorted rioters, in one clip. He urged them to drag Nancy Pelosi (House of Representatives Speaker) and other legislators out of the 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.”

William Welch was Reffitt’s lawyer and argued Reffitt should only be guilty of entering an area restricted to him. He also needs to be released from more serious charges.

Welch said to jurors, “This case had been a rush for judgment. Most of it was based upon bragging and lots of hype.”

Reffitt could still be facing years in prison if he plead guilty, even though defendants who plead guilty are typically sentenced to a lesser term. Jeffrey Cohen, who was a Boston federal prosecutor, suggested that Reffitt could have decided to pursue the possibility of winning his trial.

Reffitt belongs to a militia called the Texas Three Percenters. Cohen now at Boston College Law School said that Reffitt may not have made it clear what his thoughts were, but it’s possible that he declined a plea bargain because he believes his actions are justified.

A continuing debate between judges may have led to some defendants putting off pledging guilty. U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols decided Monday that Jan. 6 defendants cannot be charged with obstruction of an official proceeding, unless they altered official records or documents during the Capitol breach. A number of judges differed from Nichols’s interpretation, so an appeals court will probably resolve the matter this year.

Experts say that Reffitt may still get a number of plea agreements.

Cohen stated that the verdict could wake other defendants up to the fact that jurors will not see things in their favor.