A New Jersey gym owner and former MMA fighter pleaded guilty Friday for assaulting a police officer during the January 6 uprising, marking the first time Capitol rioters have been convicted of violence against police.
Scott Fairlamb, 44, also pleaded guilty to obstructing official proceedings. According to his agreement with prosecutors during a hearing on his plea on Friday, he could face a prison sentence of more than three years. They have also agreed to pay $2,000 to cover the loss to Capital.
Judge of the Capitol riot defendant: ‘ Patriotism is loyalty to the country, is loyalty to the Constitution;
Judge of the Capitol riot defendants: ‘Patriotism is loyalty to the country, loyalty to the Constitution’. The plea is a significant development in the federal investigation and could set the standard sentence of several years in prison for several rioters facing assault charges. Fairlamb has not yet been sentenced, and the amount of time he will serve will be up to the judge.
Body camera footage shows Fairlamb chasing and taunting as he makes his way through the crowd. At one point, Fairlamb yells “You have no idea what you’re doing,” pushes an officer, and then punches the officer in the head, the footage shows. He is among the small group of Capitol riot cases from which CNN and other media outlets obtained and produced public video evidence showing the alleged violence up close, from the perspective of police who were captured on body-worn cameras.
Prosecutors also alleged that Fairlamb was one of the first rioters inside the Senate side of the building.
During the virtual hearing, Judge Royce Lamberth kept a copy of the plea agreement and asked Fairlamb if the details of his conduct “really what happened here.”
“Yes sir,” said Fairlamb.
“So you’re really guilty, is that true?” Lamberth asked.
“Yes, your honor,” replied Fairlamb.
second plea deal
Another defendant, Devlin Thompson, pleaded guilty Friday to assault with a dangerous weapon on an officer, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years. As part of the plea deal, Thompson will also pay $2,000 in damages and write an apology letter to the officer who was the victim of the attack.
According to prosecutors, Thompson spent 13 minutes on the lines of a face-off between police and a crowd in the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace Tunnel.
Thompson reportedly found a police baton on the ground and used it to hit an officer in the wrist in an apparent attempt to drop a canister of pepper spray from the officer’s hand.
In court filings, Thompson’s attorney said he wanted to “within the pepper spray” and did not intend to hurt the officer, but believed the assault was “really unforgivable.”
The Justice Department indicted more than 560 federal defendants related to the uprising, during which rioters attacked about 140 police officers. So far, 32 people have pleaded guilty to federal charges.
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