Capitol rioter who punched police officer pleads guilty
The first of more than 100 defendants charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding police officers during the Capitol riot pleaded guilty on Friday after being caught on video punching a helmeted Metropolitan Police Department officer in the head on Jan. 6.
Scott Fairlamb, who has been behind bars for months, appeared by Zoom on Friday to plead guilty to one count of obstruction of an official proceeding and one count of assaulting a police officer after being charged in a 12-count indictment earlier this year.
The plea deal he and his lawyer agreed upon with the Justice Department recommends a minimum sentence of 41 months and a maximum of 51 months.
Fairlamb admitted to the charges of “obstruction of an official proceeding” and that he did “forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate, and interfere with” an MPD officer dubbed “Officer Z.B.” while he “was engaged in and on account of the performance of official duties, and where the acts in violation of this section involve physical contact with the victim and the intent to commit another felony.” He also agreed to pay $2,000 restitution.
DEBUNKED CLAIMS OFFICER SICKNICK DIED FROM CAPITOL RIOT INJURIES REEMERGE AT DAY ONE HEARING
Assistant U.S. Attorney Leslie Goemaat said the Justice Department might invoke a sentence enhancement during Fairlamb’s proceedings, citing the section of the U.S. sentencing guidelines related to if “the offense is a felony that involved, or was intended to promote, a federal crime of terrorism.”
Video footage showed Fairlamb, dressed in a brown camouflage jacket, shove and punch a Metropolitan Police Department officer in the head on the west front of the Capitol. Before that, video showed Fairlamb cross a breached police skirmish line and pick up a collapsible baton from the ground, carrying it into the Senate side of the Capitol after rioters broke a window and kicked down a door. Fairlamb left the Capitol roughly a half-hour later.
Fairlamb posted a video on his Facebook carrying the baton and yelling, “What patriots do? We f***ing disarm them, and then we storm the f***ing Capitol! F*** you!” Roughly half an hour after exiting the Capitol, he came across police officers beginning to move away from a large crowd of rioters, and Fairlamb followed the police, yelling, “Are you an American? Act like one!”
Fairlamb pushed an officer into other protesters. When the officer swatted Fairlamb’s hand away, Fairlamb punched him in his face shield, shocking some of the other rioters who tried to calm him down.
Fairlamb's sentencing will occur on Sept. 27.
Fairlamb runs a New Jersey gym and training facility, Fairlamb Fit, which he opened in 2016. Before that, he worked as a security guard. Fairlamb’s brother works for the U.S. Secret Service. While in prison, Fairlamb was occasionally confined to his cell for 23.5 hours each day.
When unsuccessfully arguing against detention in April, Fairlamb’s attorney told the court, “If my client were truly the predatory wrecking machine as he is portrayed by the government, he would have intended and actually caused something far greater than what is routinely referred to as misdemeanor simple assault.”
Prosecutors alleged that “as a former MMA fighter, the defendant was well aware of the injury he could have inflicted on Officer Z.B.”
“My client had literally one mixed martial arts fight," Fairlamb’s lawyer retorted in April.
Separately, Devlyn Thompson pleaded guilty on Friday to assaulting an MPD sergeant during the Capitol riot.
Criminal information filed against Thompson in July stated he used a "deadly and dangerous weapon" — in this case, a baton — and "did forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate, and interfere with, an officer … that is, Sergeant W.B., an officer from the Metropolitan Police Department ... where the acts in violation of this section involve physical contact with the victim.”
Thompson’s lawyers told the court he “has remained cooperative with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI, and will be providing the U.S. Attorney’s Office with a letter of apology to Sergeant W.B.”
Thompson’s lawyer said the Capitol riot was “absurd and stupid” and said his client was truly remorseful but said he was “not a planner and not a co-conspirator” so he should not be behind bars. Prosecutors said that “this is one of the largest domestic terrorist events in U.S. history” and said Thompson should be jailed until sentencing. Thompson's lawyer said he took issue with the domestic terrorism designation. Judge Royce Lamberth denied the defendant's request for release.
Prosecutors say at least 165 defendants have been charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers or employees, including over 50 individuals charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer. DOJ reports an estimated 140 police officers were assaulted.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Justice Department has filed charges against 565 defendants so far and accepted 31 guilty pleas before Friday, mostly for misdemeanors. Several alleged Capitol rioters have agreed to cooperate with prosecutors, including a few alleged members of the right-wing Oath Keepers militia group.
Roughly five dozen Capitol riot defendants are currently being held in pretrial detention.
Washington Examiner Videos
Tags: News, Donald Trump, U.S. Capitol Building, U.S. Capitol Police, Justice Department, Capitol
Original Author: Jerry Dunleavy
Original Location: Capitol rioter who punched police officer pleads guilty
