(Bloomberg) -- The first Capitol rioter to go on trial was ordered to spend more than seven years behind bars -- the longest sentence yet in a Jan. 6 case -- for obstructing Congress and threatening his two children to keep them quiet, among other crimes.

Guy Reffitt, a Texas member of the Three Percenters militia group, was sentenced Monday by US District Judge Dabney Friedrich in Washington. He was convicted by a jury in March. 

The 87 months imposed by Friedrich was shorter than the 15 years sought by prosecutors. The government said in court filings that a terrorism enhancement was warranted, noting that he was armed, was in one of the first waves of attackers and threatened to physically harm lawmakers.

“Carrying his holstered handgun and clad in body armor that could withstand rifle fire, Reffitt was one of the first rioters to confront United States Capitol Police officers on the stairs on the west side of the Capitol building,” the US said in a July 15 sentencing memorandum. “There, he intimidated law enforcement officers by advancing toward them at the head of a mob of rioters.”

Reffitt was ultimately halted by police pepper spray and retreated after a 44-minute confrontation. But prosecutors showed evidence that he waved other rioters ahead, even after he stopped.

Clinton Broden, a lawyer for Reffitt, didn’t immediately respond to message seeking comment.

The case was seen as a bellwether for how juries may weigh evidence in other trials later this year, including two group trials of militia members accused of seditious conspiracy -- the most serious charge stemming from the insurrection. The US Justice Department has charged more than 800 people over the attack.

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Reffitt had “specifically targeted” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in remarks he made to other people gathered at former President Donald Trump’s rally before the attack, the US said. Reffitt wore a tactical helmet and bulletproof armor during the assault, and carried police-style flexicuffs.

“At the Ellipse on the morning of January 6, he told other members of his militia group and those gathered around him that he planned to physically drag Speaker Pelosi out of the Capitol building by her ankles, with her head hitting every step on the way down,” the US said in a July 15 sentencing memorandum.

Reffitt had argued for no more than two years in prison, saying most if not all defendants who received longer sentences had committed far worse crimes, like assaulting police officers. Reffitt never entered the Capitol, and prosecutors’ portrayal of his actions that day was “overdramatic,” he said.

In Reffitt’s sentencing memorandum, his lawyer said said his client had a “romanticized” view of what would happen on Jan. 6, and that he marched on the Capitol after Trump said his supporters should do so. He also implied Reffitt was suffering from career problems and spending too much time online.

“Mr. Reffitt felt marginalized and inadequate after the loss of his job in 2019 and believed he was failing the family he always worked so hard to provide for,” his lawyer said in the filing. “With more time on his hands, he spent significant amounts of time on the computer and, to state the obvious, the internet can be both a blessing and a curse.”

Asking for more than two years “makes a mockery of the criminal justice system,” his lawyer said in another filing on July 29.

Reffitt was found guilty of obstruction of Congress and carrying a loaded firearm on federal grounds, as well as obstructing justice by threatening his son and daughter to keep quiet about his participation in the riot. His son, who turned in his father anyway, was the government’s star witness at trial.

The case is US v Reffitt, US District Court, District of Columbia.

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