Insurrectionist gets 3.5 years for trying to destroy America.
" By Tom Jackman
The Washington Post
A New Jersey gym owner who punched a D.C. police officer outside the Capitol on Jan. 6 was sentenced Wednesday to 41 months in prison by a federal judge who called his actions “an affront to society and to the law” and said he was smart to plead guilty rather than take his chances with a jury that would see numerous videos of his actions.
Scott Kevin Fairlamb, 44, was captured on various videos screaming profanely in support of the pro-Trump insurrection, climbing on the inauguration scaffolding outside the Capitol, and then pushing an officer into a group of people and punching the officer’s face shield, as well as briefly entering and exiting the Capitol, according to court filings and footage played in court. Fairlamb is a former mixed martial arts fighter and bar bouncer in New Jersey with two prior assault convictions.
The sentence of 41 months is the stiffest yet handed down to a Capitol rioter. Of the 126 people who have pleaded guilty so far, only 16 have admitted to felonies, and Fairlamb is the third felon to be sentenced. The other two felons, who were not accused of violence against the police, received sentences of eight and 14 months.
In the days after the assault on Congress, Fairlamb posted and then deleted videos of himself at the Capitol, and issued statements such as “It’s go time,” “Q said this word for word,” and “I’d go again,” according to court records. Prosecutors on Wednesday played videos of Fairlamb assaulting the D.C. police officer and shouting at him, “Are you an American? Act like … one. You guys have no idea what the … you’re doing!”"
"“he did, in fact, feel as if he had been duped by social media prior to Jan. 6.” "
"“Had you gone to trial,” the judge said, “I don’t think there’s any jury that could have acquitted you or would have acquitted you. You certainly made the right decision, you and your attorney, to plead guilty.”
Lamberth said, “It’s such a serious offense under the circumstances, an affront to society and to the law, to have the Capitol overrun and to have this riot stop the whole functioning government, that I just find that it’s such a serious crime that I cannot give a below-guideline sentence.” The judge said the minimum sentence under the guidelines, 41 months, was appropriate."
