Scott Fairlamb has become the first U.S. Capitol rioter to be sentenced for violence against law enforcement, receiving a prison term of 41 months. The New Jersey ex-MMA fighter, who punched a Capitol cop in the face, pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer and obstructing an official proceeding. His sentence, three months shorter than the one federal prosecutors had sought, is the longest received by a rioter yet.
“I truly regret my actions that day. I have nothing but remorse,” the 44-year-old said on Wednesday, adding that he hoped the judge would “show some mercy on me, sir.” In addition to being filmed attacking an officer, Fairlamb was captured waving a collapsible police baton around, shouting, “What [do] patriots do? We fucking disarm them and we storm the fucking Capitol!”
In court, Fairlamb’s attorney called his client a “commendable” person who had taken “a wrong step.” But Judge Royce Lamberth expressed disgust, saying, “It’s such a serious crime that I can’t give a below-guideline sentence.” The sentence will likely be a ‘canary in the coal mine’ for the roughly 200 more officer assault cases still to be decided, NBC4 reported.
Read it at NBC4 Washington
