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A young man, Jackson Reffitt, who reported his father to the FBI for his involvement in the January 6 Capitol protest, was lauded by liberals and received nearly $200,000 on GoFundMe after testifying against his father, leading to his father’s prison sentence.
Jackson’s actions before and after January 6, including secretly recording his father and creating a fundraising page, sparked controversy and family discord.
“So many asked for a Go Fund Me so here it is. Every penny is another course in college or me saving it for years to come. I might be kicked out of my house due to my involvement in my dad’s case, so every cent might help me survive,” the GoFundMe page read.
“He bragged to his family about what he did at the Capitol. Those comments were taped by his son Jackson,” the judge said.
“My dad ran up the Capitol steps under Trump flags,” Jackson said.
“Trump destroyed my whole family… Without Trump, my family would still be together. I 100 percent guarantee you. It was a perfect family.”
The situation drew comparisons to Communist-era practices of turning family members in and highlighted the rift caused within the Reffitt family, with differing views on the impact of political beliefs and actions on familial relations.
“Family members turning against each other was the hallmark of Mao’s Cultural Revolution. Now it is in America,” Communist China escapee Xi Van Fleet said.
It was “classic Communist behavior. Brainwashed against his family then externalizes and misdirects the blame against the object of political hatred,” Marxism scholar James Lindsay said.