There is a hot new play currently running off-Broadway in New York.

From the website: “Fatherland is the true story of an 18-year-old son who turned in his father to the FBI for his militant role in the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. Fast-paced and powerful, Fatherland has landed off-Broadway following a sold-out Los Angeles run which the LA Times hails "will leave you shaken." This compelling tale is told verbatim from public statements, case evidence, and official court transcripts from the explosive trial that ignited a media frenzy and grabbed headlines nationwide.”

Or, as Brett T. asks at Twitchy, “So now we have January 6, the play?”

Just in time for the November election, this “true story” play running in New York tells the story of young Jackson Reffitt and his father, Guy, who is currently serving 7.5 years in prison for wearing a firearm during the protests following the 2020 election. According to reports, Guy Reffitt never drew his weapon, never assaulted a police officer, and never entered the Capitol building. Yet he’s locked in prison for 7.5 years and spending 23 hours per day locked down in solitary confinement for being in the Capitol while wearing a holstered pistol as part of the crowd supporting Donald Trump.

Exactly why is Jackson’s father in prison? Well, he’s currently rotting away behind bars because Jackson called the FBI and reported his father for participating in the January 6 “insurrection,” while giving federal authorities all the evidence they would need to convict him. If I could ask Jackson one question (he’s currently much too busy studying political science when he isn’t making appearances on MSNBC or CNN or doing interviews with the Washington Post to respond to someone like me), it would be this: have you seen any of the coverage of what happened after Donald Trump was elected in 2016 and if so, how can you sleep at night after betraying your own father?

Apparently, he manages somehow. On Morning Joe, young Reffitt complained, “It was the hardest decision I’ve ever made, and it continues to haunt me to this day. But I don’t regret it.”

Perhaps you don’t regret it today, but you will regret it eventually. You didn’t just betray your father by reporting his conversations with your mother to the FBI. You’ve also destroyed your family. You’ve got a fat GoFundMe account for college tuition, but what about your younger sister, Peyton? How does she pay for school?

Three years ago, Jackson magnanimously posted on X (Twitter), “Yes I’m the kid on cnn [SIC] I’m sorry I probably won’t get around to responding to everyone. My mom and my sisters are absolutely ruined about the news from what I did. This is the first they are hearing about my involvement in my dad’s arrest. Please send them love in any form.”

I do send them all the love and sympathy I have, but that won’t get your father out of prison, will it? A little over a year later Jackson posted, “My father could have possibly been home by now getting mental help if he took a plea deal.”

Wow. Are you kidding me? Would this mental help be taking place in a “reeducation camp,” by any chance? There is supreme irony in naming a play Fatherland that is about a boy betraying his father for the sake of the nation/state. The playwrights obviously intended the make the connection between Donald Trump and Hitler, but the far more real connection is between Jackson Reffitt and the Hitler Youth, the Hitler Jugend. That’s exactly what the Nazi did -- turn families against each other.

Jackson supports Bernie Sanders. In July 2021 he tweeted, “literally how is Bernie not president?” I could explain that to you, Jackson, if you’d like. The Democrat Party didn’t want Bernie to be the nominee because the party hierarchy knows that socialism won’t win a fair national election in a free republic. The only way to win is by cheating. Bernie was going to win the nomination but lose the election to Trump, or so the people behind the scenes who really run things for the Democrats believed. They want to hold power more than anything, so they’ll do anything or say anything to win. The modern Democrat Party didn’t allow Bernie to win even though he consistently outpolled Hillary in 2016. Again, he was comfortably ahead of Biden in 2020 when Bernie withdrew from the race after James Clyburn turned South Carolina for Joe Biden. So, why did Bernie drop out when he was still a strong contender for the nomination? I can’t think of a good reason except that (third) vacation home he bought on the lake for $600k might have had something to do with it. For a socialist who has never worked a day in the private sector, Bernie lives rather “high on the hog,” as we say down South. “Millionaire socialist” sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it?

Jackson is also extremely pro-union. He participated in a union strike on Lake Highlands Alamo draft house. In 2023 he was fired from his job for wearing an IWW button (Industrial Workers of the World, a socialist/anarchist labor movement). I’m not sure how hard he needs to work, having a GoFundMe set up to pay for his college education with $200k.

It’s too bad that he’s been using that money to pursue a degree in political science. That should give Jackson at least four options to consider: law school, teaching, politics, or working at McDonalds. He’s going to need to make lots of money because he’s burned the people closest to him. I may not be Carnac the Magnificent, but I see the title “fry cook” in his not-too-distant future.

Jackson loves Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, posting numerous photos of and comments by her. It is sad to witness the degree to which his mind has been poisoned by Democrat propaganda. Apparently, he believes everything he’s told by those who appeal to his confirmation bias. 

Jackson also loves violent video games and posts about them frequently. On August 2022 he tweeted this: “If my dad played mgs (Metal Gear Solid) I doubt he would have done what he did.” So… is Jackson saying if his dad lived in a fantasy world like he does, he wouldn’t have had to turn Guy in to the feds?

Before he was thrown into prison, Jackson’s father supported the family well, earning a six-figure salary from the oil industry. The family had been able to travel around the world and lived a very comfortable lifestyle. Jackson’s sister Sarah said, “No family is perfect, and I wouldn’t want to be. But we were super, super close.”

I almost feel sorry for Jackson, because he really has no idea what he’s done. Why does he support the people doing the exact same things Hitler was doing to his opposition to Trump, while ironically calling Trump “Hitler”? The damage Jackson has done to his family is irreparable. Perhaps it can be forgiven, but he’ll have to humble himself to visit the prison and ask his father for forgiveness. The problem is, Jackson still doesn’t realize he’s done anything wrong. He thinks he’s the good guy, the righteous one, and has no reason to repent. Just like a Gutes Deutsch.

I have only one final thing to say: Free Guy!

John Leonard is a freelance writer. He blogs at southernprose.com. His books can be found at LeonardBooks.net.

Image: AT via Magic Studio