More people who participated in the Jan. 6 march on the U.S. Capitol are being sentenced for their actions, including Scott Fairlamb, who was caught on video striking a police officer in the head.
Judge Royce Lamberth sentenced the 44-year-old gym owner and former MMA fighter to 41 months in prison, making it the most serious sentence yet stemming from the attack.
Fairlamb was also the first Capitol rioter sentenced for violence against the police, and the federal judge’s decision will likely serve as a benchmark for how other Jan. 6 insurrectionists charged with violence will be punished. The other Capitol riot cases have dealt with nonviolent offenders charged with misdemeanors and sentenced to minimal if any, jail time.
In the video, Fairlamb can be seen wearing a camouflage jacket shoving and then punching a Capitol Police officer. He was also shown posing with an “AREA CLOSED” sign outside the Capitol and encouraging others to “storm the building.”
While prosecutors recommended a 44-month sentence, Judge Lamberth said that Fairlamb’s guilty plea and expression of remorse had earned him a lesser sentence than what other offenders might receive. “Had you gone to trial, I don’t think there’s any jury that could have acquitted you,” he said.
“I truly regret my actions that day,” Fairlamb told the judge. “I have nothing but remorse.” Still, that hasn’t stopped him from raising more than $30,000 in an online fundraiser since his arrest.