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A Capitol rioter from Texas threatened to shoot his own children if they snitched on him to the feds ... at least according to the FBI.

According to his wife, Guy Reffitt told his son and daughter, "If you turn me in, you're a traitor and you know what happens to traitors ... traitors get shot" ... and it's all spelled out in an affidavit signed by FBI special agent Thomas Ryan.

In the affidavit, obtained by TMZ, the FBI agent says Reffitt was seen in restricted areas of the Capitol during the riots. Reffitt's accused of unlawful entry and obstruction of justice.

Reffitt's alleged threats didn't stop there, according to the feds ... he told his daughter he would "put a bullet" through her phone if she told friends her dad was at the Capitol.

Images of Reffitt from the insurrection show what appears to be a camera on his helmet, and the FBI says he admitted to his son he "stormed the Capitol" and told his family he had to scrub his Go-Pro footage from Jan. 6 because the FBI was on to him.

The guy's wife told the feds he's a member of a right-wing militia group, the Three Percenters, adding she didn't believe he would follow through with his alleged threats and was more disturbed by his extreme rhetoric.

This is 57 for Michelle Obama, who's reflecting on a challenging year, and sending a motivational message to everyone going through the same -- hang in there.

The former First Lady celebrated her birthday Sunday, and thanked her millions of followers for their "lovely birthday wishes" ... while sharing a pensive black-and-white photo of herself.

Michelle added ... "I know this past year has been difficult for us all on so many levels, so I just hope you all are taking care of yourselves and finding joy in the smallest moments."

Her hubby, former Prez Barack, also gave her a bday shout-out ... accompanied by a throwback pic. He captioned it, "Happy birthday to my love, my partner, and my best friend. Every moment with you is a blessing. Love you, Miche."

Of course, a lot of the difficulty Michelle alludes to in her bday message involves the hot-button issues of 2020 that have continued on in the new year -- the coronavirus pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, social justice and protests ... and the contentious election.

Staging preparations for Joe Biden's inauguration were interrupted Monday morning when smoke billowed up nearby ... prompting a lockdown of Capitol Hill.

As multiple groups were meeting to practice for the festivities on Wednesday, smoke was seen rising up behind the Capitol Building ... forcing an evacuation.

According to reports ... Capitol Hill staffers received a message warning of an "external security threat" prior to the dress rehearsal for the inauguration.

Everyone was ordered back inside and instructed to stay away from windows and doors and seek cover if outside.

The good news -- the D.C. Fire Dept. located the fire and put it out ... and nobody was hurt. Our sources say the fire was started at a homeless encampment and is no longer viewed as any sort of threat.

Of course, there is a very strong security presence everywhere in the area -- bolstered by some 20,000 National Guard troops -- and the brief evacuation is a sign of the high alert that remains since the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.

We already knew Joe Biden was bringing 2 dogs to the White House, but now he'll also have Doggface -- the TikTok superstar -- as part of his welcoming committee.

TMZ's learned viral "Dreams" skateboarder Nathan Apodaca will be part of Biden's virtual inauguration parade next week, which will feature the stories and talents of Americans from all across the country.

Sources close to the President-elect's inauguration planning team tell us ... they reached out to Nathan to ask him to join the project, because they saw how his feel-good video uplifted the world this past fall during social unrest and pandemic anxiety.

We're told Biden's team was impressed by Nathan's humble response to the immense worldwide reaction to his video ... and suggested he incorporate the skateboarding into Biden's digital celebration on January 20.

We're told Nathan agreed and has already shot something for the virtual parade from his home in Idaho Falls.

Doggface is one of the few people who had an amazing 2020 after the TikTok of him skateboarding and grooving to the Fleetwood Mac tune -- while sipping cranberry juice -- blew up online.

Ocean Spray gifted him a brand new truck, his merchandise biz took off, he bought a home ... and he got engaged to his girlfriend, Estela! Unfortunately, he and his fiancee also got COVID in December ... but thankfully they've recovered.

Bow Wow's the fall guy for all of the events in Houston this weekend that didn't follow proper COVID-19 protocols ... according to the rapper himself, who believes the mayor has it out for him.

As we reported ... BW was criticized for drawing a large, mostly unmasked crowd at a club Friday night, and caught the attention of Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner because he had more gigs scheduled the rest of the weekend.

The mayor tweeted Sunday that Bow Wow's scheduled events in Houston were on his radar, adding ... "Other bars/clubs that are operating as restaurants, beyond capacity and social distancing requirements, please expect visits."

Though the mayor cited rising COVID cases and deaths in his city and made it clear "Concerts are not allowed in Houston at this time unless it is virtual," Bow Wow's taking it personally ... griping, "Safe to say the mayor of houston hates my guts."

The rapper says he's skipping town but he can't believe he's getting blamed for the whole weekend, and points out he wasn't the only celeb there over the weekend.

That's true -- as we told you ... Meek Mill and J. Prince Jr. were also at the club with Bow Wow Friday night, and neither seemed to be wearing masks, like most of the crowd.

Tom Brady beat a Brees and then scored with one later ... 'cause after the Buccaneers superstar bounced Drew Brees from the playoffs Sunday -- he threw a TD to the QB's son!

The cool moment all went down an hour or so after the Bucs beat the Saints in the Superdome in an NFC Divisional Round game ... with Brady and Brees having what appeared to be a pretty emotional talk.

Brady gave Brees (who had just finished likely the final game of his historic career) a handshake and a long hug ... and then suddenly Brees' son came up to the two.

The young Brees handed a ball to Tom -- and TB12 knew exactly what to do with it!!!

The Tampa Bay signal-caller fired a perfect strike into the corner of the endzone ... and the little Brees came down with a pretty impressive catch!

"That a boy!" Tom told the kid. "We could have used you tonight. Got to get that ball in the endzone!"

Brees' wife then gave Tom a hug ... and Brady provided some strong words of wisdom to Drew's other son -- "Be nice to your sister." Tom then bolted for the locker room.

Move over Tom Hanks, there's a new Viktor Navorski here to awkwardly (and illegally) live inside an American airport for months on end ... so say authorities out of Chicago, anyway.

A California man named Aditya Singh was arrested this weekend when prosecutors say United employees discovered he'd secretly made O'Hare Airport his home for 3 whopping months ... by using a legit staffer's credentials.

Singh claims he was afraid to fly for fear of catching COVID-19. He’s been charged with felony criminal trespass to a restricted area of an airport and misdemeanor theft.

Prosecutors say Singh had arrived at O'Hare from Orange County in October 2020 ... and, at some point, swiped someone's discarded credentials and shacked up in the restricted secure zones, where only employees are allowed.

Other passengers who shuffled in and out over the next few months apparently gave the guy money and food to survive.

Singh's reportedly a college graduate with a master's degree in hospitality. It's unclear why he'd flown to Chi-Town in the first place, but the judge presiding over his case finds it as bizarre as you do right now.

His bail was set at $1,000, and IF he posts it, he's also barred him from stepping foot in the airport for the time being. So, even if he can get himself out between now and his next court date in late January ... it doesn’t sound like he can hop on a flight home.

The Trump supporter who spit on a Black Lives Matter protester on camera during an argument has a big problem ... he's now a criminal defendant.

Prosecutors in Massachusetts charged Scott Marberblatt with assault and battery. An officer on duty at last month's protest said he witnessed Marberblatt spitting and coughing on a BLM protester.

The alleged victim, Marcus Johnson, tells TMZ ... he was with his mom, who was holding a BLM sign, when the guy started arguing with them that "all lives matter" ... then suddenly, he was on the receiving end of the gross discharge.

Aside from the obvious, Marcus had a deeper concern -- coronavirus. He says he couldn't get a COVID test immediately after the incident, so he self-isolated for days. He says he was finally able to get a COVID test, which came back negative.

Jon Schaffer -- the founder of heavy metal group Iced Earth -- is now in federal custody, and as it turns out, he was one of the more hardcore rioters who raided the Capitol ... according to the FBI, anyway.

The feds say Schaffer turned himself in Sunday in Indiana, where he faces six charges in connection to the Capitol insurrection ... including engaging in an act of physical violence in a Capitol building, violent entry and disorderly conduct in a capitol building, among others.

There's also this ... the FBI say, "Schaffer was allegedly among rioters who sprayed Capitol police with 'bear spray.'" You might've seen some of that going on Jan. 6 -- members of the Trump crowd were getting hosed with pepper spray, but were dishing it right back.

One such individual who was caught on camera unloading his bear spray nozzle has been dubbed #BearSprayMan, but it doesn't appear to be Schaffer in the video. In any case, law enforcement believes he used some on the Capitol police at some point.

As we reported ... Schaffer was named as one of the rioters shortly after the chaos in D.C., and he was one of the many wanted individuals on the FBI's list. The guy didn't exactly try hiding his presence either ... even leading up to the Jan. 6 storming, he'd been in and around different protests, voicing his support for Trump as part of the #StopTheSteal crowd.

And, on the day itself, he was photographed all over the place too ... with his face fully revealed.

As for Iced Earth, they put out a statement a couple weeks ago ... but didn't mention Jon by name. What they did say ... "We absolutely DO NOT condone nor do we support riots or the acts of violence that the rioters were involved in on January 6th at the US Capitol building. We hope that all those involved that day are brought to justice to be investigated and answer for their actions."

Interestingly enough, they didn't include a photo of Jon in their collage art for that IG post.

Steven Spielberg can breathe a sigh of relief ... a judge granted a permanent restraining order against the woman who's been threatening to kill him.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... 48-year-old Sarah Char must stay 100 yards away from Steven, his wife and his daughter for the next 3 years.

Char's also prohibited from harassing, intimidating or threatening Steven, she can't contact or tag him on social media ... and must stay away from his home, job and workplace. And, there's this, which sounds odd, but she's been ordered not to impersonate Spielberg.

TMZ broke the story ... Steven sought protection against Char after claiming law enforcement told him the woman tried to purchase a gun to kill him.

The famous director also said he got a Twitter message from Char telling him ... "If I have to personally MURDER people for stealing my IPs‚ I WILL. Get me?"

Forget Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields ... Jets star Quinnen Williams tells TMZ Sports his squad should PASS on a QB in April's NFL draft -- and take Devonta Smith instead!!!

"I'm wishin'!" Williams says. "I'm saying it right now, I'm wishin'!"

Of course, NY will likely have the option to take the star 'Bama wideout at #2 overall in just a few months ... though most pundits believe the team should take a QB and move on from Sam Darnold with the pick.

But, when we spoke with Williams after his former Alabama team won the National Championship last week, he told us he'd prefer to keep Sam and select this year's Heisman Trophy winner instead.

"Devonta Smith got that 'Bama in him," Williams says. "We need someone with that. Man, he's amazing."

The selection would be fairly historic ... wideouts almost NEVER go in the top two picks -- in fact, only two have been selected in the top two since 2000 (Calvin Johnson in 2007 and Charles Rogers in 2002).

According to Williams, though, this is the perfect time to make it happen again.

"Any team that gets him -- not even the Jets -- any team that gets him they'll be getting a dominant player," Williams says. "And, you can see that now."

We're pretty sure Williams ain't wrong here -- Smith was incredible for Alabama this season, catching 117 passes for 1,856 receiving yards and 23 receiving touchdowns.

"If we get him," Williams says, "he's going to be a dynamic attribute for Sam."

American artist Tommy Heath shot to stardom in the early '80s after he laid down the vocals for his band Tommy Tutone's now-classic track, "867-5309/Jenny" ... which found its way onto the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks charts and caused a phone-calling frenzy in search of the mysterious woman in the jam, Jenny.

While Tommy Heath was taking center stage as the singer in Tommy Tutone ... he was joined in creating the rock band by Jim Keller as the lead guitarist going all the way back to 1978.

Dr. Dre is back home, and back to doing what he does best in the wake of being released from the hospital ... making music, and looking healthy doing it.

Five-time, Grammy-winning producer Focus posted a photo Saturday of him, Dre and a bunch of other creatives hanging out in what appears to be a recording studio. Dre is front and center, giving a slight smirk, and everyone around him seems to be in high spirits too.

Focus writes, "𝗠𝘆 𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗕𝗿𝗼 𝗶𝘀 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱!!! We Working... I TOOK THE PIC SO IM HERE!!!" That seems to confirm what we've been hearing about Dre's condition -- that he's recovering nicely, and seems to be out of the woods, as far as immediate danger.

Ice-T said as much himself, taking to Twitter on Friday to let his followers know he'd Facetimed with Dre, and that the guy was back home, "safe" and "looking good."

As we reported, Dre was released Friday ... this after nearly a week in the ICU. Doctors had kept him there out of an abundance of caution following his brain aneurysm, in case he suffered another health scare that required immediate medical attention.

Phil Spector, the music producer responsible for some of the biggest hits in music and the architect of The Wall of Sound has died ... sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ.

We're told he died from COVID-related complications, after being transferred from his prison cell to a hospital. We're told he was diagnosed 4 weeks ago and went to the hospital but recovered well enough to return to prison, where he was serving a 19-to-life sentence for the murder of Lana Clarkson.

Our sources say he relapsed, had trouble breathing and was rushed back to the hospital, where he died Saturday.

Spector began his career early ... when he was still in high school, he produced his first big hit, "To Know Him is To Love Him," by the Teddy Bears.

And then, the floodgates opened. He produced a flurry of hits ... from The Righteous Brothers "You Lost that Lovin' Feeling," "Unchained Melody," "You're My Soul and Inspiration," The Ronettes' "Be My Baby," The Crystals' "He's a Rebel," and on and on.

Spector had a deep association with The Beatles, and produced their album, "Let It Be." Among the songs, "The Long and Winding Road," "Get Back," and the title track. He also produced John Lennon's solo work, including "Instant Karma," and "Imagine."

Phil's reach was far and wide. He also produced Ike & Tina Turner's "River Deep, Mountain High."

When Phil produced The Ronettes, he went on to marry their lead singer, Ronnie in 1968, and had a tumultuous relationship. She accused him of tormenting her during their 4 years together by telling her she was nothing -- personally or professionally -- without him, forbidding her to leave their mansion alone, and pulling guns on her.

She eventually fled barefoot from him in 1972.

Spector's "Wall of Sound" was a technique he discovered in a tunnel near Hollywood Blvd. The sound created a roaring effect, which Spector called the "Wagnerian approach to rock 'n' roll" -- it involved overdubbing scores of musicians in an orchestral style to make a fuller sound.

The technique was mimicked by the Beach Boys and Bruce Springsteen.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989.

Spector ended up in prison for the second-degree murder of Clarkson, an actress he'd met in 2003 while she was working at the House of Blues in WeHo. They went back to his mansion, and he shot her ... although he'd claimed it was an accidental suicide.

His first trial, in 2007, was declared a mistrial, due to a hung jury, but he was convicted in a 2009 retrial.

In March 2013, Al Pacino played Spector in the movie "Phil Spector."

Spector was 81.

An autistic teenager died after being restrained by Sheriff's deputies following a violent episode between the teen and his dad, and now ... his parents are suing the department, claiming they suffocated the kid to death.

Donna Lou and Daren Parsa have filed a lawsuit against the Jefferson Parish Sheriff in Louisiana over an incident last January that left 16-year-old Eric Parsa dead ... which the parents allege happened because deputies on the scene sat on him for 9 minutes.

The lawsuit claims on January 19, 2020 ... Eric and his family were leaving a laser tag facility at a shopping center, when for some reason he started attacking his dad in what his parents describe as a "meltdown" related to his condition.

Cops were called while Daren tried restraining Eric, and eventually, a few deputies arrived and handcuffed him while also shackling his feet ... all the while holding him in a face-down position on the parking lot pavement as he continued to squirm and struggle.

Eric's parents allege one deputy placed all his body weight onto the kid in the face-down position for nearly 10 minutes, and that at one point ... another deputy reportedly put him into a chokehold, and never once moved him on his side so he could breathe properly.

The lawsuit claims it was only when Eric's body went limp and he urinated himself that deputies turned him over, but it was too late. Eric was taken to a hospital, where he went into cardiac arrest and died. The family says the cops used unreasonable and excessive force that directly caused Eric's death.

The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office denounced the lawsuit, saying it contained malicious and false claims about the deputies who tried to help that day ... and that they'll fight this in court.

The altercation was captured on surveillance video from afar ... so it's difficult to make out exactly what happens on camera. There was clearly a tussle that went on for several minutes, and it does appear some people -- including a shirtless man -- were on top of Eric, who's in the black shirt.

While the suit doesn't appear to mention training -- or a lack thereof -- the family does seem to imply deputies were ill-equipped to handle this situation ... which has echoes of Patrick Warren, another person with mental health issues who was fatally shot by police last week.

Joe Biden's getting sworn in as the 46th President of the United States in just a few days, but his dog's getting sworn in right now -- with none other than Josh Groban helping out.

Joe's second German Shepherd, Major, is being honored Sunday with a virtual celebration via Zoom, which has been appropriately tagged -- "inDOGuration." During the event, Major will get some serious screen time with ticketholders and partake in pooch-friendly activities, with Jill Martin from the "TODAY" show hosting, and Darius Brown appearing as a guest.

They won't be the only human faces to drop in though ... Groban was added as a bit of a last-minute booking for some live entertainment. He willed his desire to perform for the "inDOGuration" into existence, recently asking Joe's team to let him sing for it.

Looks like his wish was granted, because on Sunday Josh wrote, "IT CAME TRUE!! I am so happy. The world is a mess, but we can all agree dogs rule. Let’s celebrate Major’s Indoguration and raise $$ for his rescue shelter, Delaware Humane Association."

Tickets go for $10, and the show starts at 3 PM ET. As for what Josh is gonna be doing exactly ... word is, he'll be singing an original dog-themed song. Sounds about right!

As you might know, Joe adopted Major in 2018 from the animal shelter mentioned above ... making him the first shelter dog to occupy the White House. The Bidens have another German Shepherd, Champ, who's been in their family for well over a decade now.

It's been 4 years since we've had some canines in the White House. Trump infamously didn't have any pets ... despite it being a tradition for Presidents to have some furry friends.