Scott Fairlamb, a former mixed martial arts fighter who pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer and obstructing an official proceeding during the January 6th riot at the U.S. Capitol, was sentenced to 41 months in prison on Wednesday.
According to a sentencing memo submitted last week by prosecutors, Fairlamb was one of the first rioters to breach the Capitol. He isolated a Metropolitan Police Department officer and punched him in the head.
Fairlamb recorded a video of himself waving a pilfered police baton and shouting “What Patriots do? We f***n’ disarm them and then we storm the f***n’ Capitol!”
The 44-year old New Jersey native and former gym owner has been in jail since late January.
CNN reports:
His sentence will likely set an early benchmark for how harshly rioters charged with violence may be punished and ushers in a new phase of the Capitol riot cases, which so far have only had non-violent defendants sentenced largely to no jail time.
Before handing down the sentence, Judge Royce Lamberth told Fairlamb he made the right decision accepting a plea agreement. “Had you gone to trial, I don’t think there’s any jury that could have acquitted you.”
Lamberth said that other January 6 defendants in a similar situation as Fairlamb are “going to get a lot more” time in prison if they go to trial.
The 41-month sentence aligns with the low end of federal sentencing guidelines. Prosecutors sought 44 months.
“It’s such a serious offense under the circumstances, and an affront to society and to the law,” the judge told Fairlamb during the sentencing hearing. “I cannot, in good conscience, go below the guidelines.”
NBC4 Washington reports:
Fairlamb spoke and teared up in court on Wednesday as he said his father was a veteran who served the United States proudly. He apologized for disgracing his family’s name and called his behavior “irresponsible” and “reckless.” He said he “takes responsibility” for what he did. He referenced health problems including cancer and a cardiac issue.
The outlet continues:
Fairlamb is the brother of a Secret Service agent who was assigned to protect former first lady Michelle Obama, according to Fairlamb’s defense attorney.
Fairlamb’s social media accounts indicated that he subscribed to the QAnon conspiracy theory and promoted a bogus claim that Trump would become the first president of “the new Republic” on March 4, prosecutors wrote. QAnon has centered on the baseless belief that Trump was fighting against a cabal of Satan-worshipping, child sex trafficking cannibals, including “deep state” enemies, prominent Democrats and Hollywood elites.
