We're living in turbulent times, and sometimes that means it's tough to know right from wrong. However, one teen didn't let his emotions get in the way of standing up for good. That 18-year-old is Jackson Reffitt. He's the young man who tipped off the FBI over his father's involvement in the January 6 siege on the US Capitol.
He told Fox News 4 about that difficult choice. “It was my moral compass, kind of, to do what I thought would protect not only my family, but my dad himself,” he said. “And it wasn’t just because I think my dad is aggressive; I think what he’s been manipulated into thinking is aggressive.”
Surely, it couldn't have been easy to do, especially because his father was making threats. Still, Jackson knew that his father was taking part in something so dangerous that he couldn't remain silent.
He first got in contact with authorities after his father, Guy Reffitt, returned from Washington, DC, where he'd participated in the January 6 riots. Those riots led to the deaths of five people. Video taken from the event and aired on Fox News appears to show Jackson's father, Guy Reffitt, standing behind police.
The FBI later launched a public campaign asking anyone who had information about those who participated in the siege to come forward. That had Jackson's father nervous. “If you turn me in,” Guy Reffitt is quoted in his arrest affidavit as at one point telling his kids, “you’re a traitor and you know what happens to traitors … traitors get shot.”
Jackson said he found his father's threats worrisome. "The police could’ve come in at any time, at a bad time, regardless of the situation and my dad could’ve opened fire,” he told Fox 4 News. His two sisters confirmed the threats in an interview with NBC DFW but also believe they were being overblown.
“He definitely wasn’t saying he would shoot us,” said Sarah Reffitt, 23. “That claim is so, so out there it doesn’t even make sense. It’s so out of context.”
Guy Reffitt’s wife was questioned by law enforcement. She revealed that her husband is a member of the Three Percenters, a right-wing extremist group. She said her children told her of the threats that he had made to them, and she confronted him about it. She said that he did not express any regret.
On January 16, authorities searched the home, located northeast of Dallas. They recovered an AR-15 rifle and a Smith & Wesson pistol. Guy Reffitt said he purchased the pistol on his drive from Texas to Washington.
Jackson appeared on CNN in an interview with Chris Cuomo. That was when his family learned that he was the one who had tipped off the FBI. Jackson told the The New York Times on Saturday that he is not staying at his family’s home and that he is using his girlfriend’s phone because his family disconnected his.
Jackson didn't get to talk to his father before his arrest. "I don’t feel that I put him in this situation but I still feel guilty,” he told Fox 4 News. Still, he said he has no regrets about what he did and “would do it again.”
Jackson's dad is one of about 135 people who have been arrested for their involvement in the Capitol siege so far. Jackson is just one of the many brave people who have had to make a very tough choice — do what is right and risk breaking apart their family or simply do nothing. Jackson chose to do something.
While it may not have been a popular choice among his family members, other people have been applauding the teen's efforts. A GoFundMe campaign dedicated to Jackson's college fund has raised over $133,000 in just three days.
