Federal Judge Royce C. Lamberth has ordered the continued pre-trial detention of yet another Trump-supporting member of the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol building on January 6.
A federal judge in Washington, D.C. refused to release a former MMA fighter and gym owner accused of storming the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrectionhttps://t.co/DUYtR15IMK
— Right Wing Watch (@RightWingWatch) April 30, 2021
That rioter, Scott Fairlamb, is a former mixed martial arts fighter and the owner of a gym in New Jersey, and he was caught on camera physically assaulting one of the officers who were on the scene at the January riot. While holding a baton — which, amazingly, his defense attorney claimed he wasn’t using as a “weapon” — Fairlamb later screamed at a group of officers outside the Capitol building, ranting: “Are you an American? Act like fucking one!” The comments were captured on body camera footage from an officer.
Fairlamb has a criminal history including “several cases of assault,” Right Wing Watch noted, and the federal prosecutorial team noted this past behavior in making their case to Judge Lamberth for Fairlamb’s continued detention. Prosecutors also noted that, based on social media rhetoric, Fairlamb appeared to be an adherent of the virulent far-right conspiracy theory known as QAnon, a dangerous and cultish system of belief hinging on the idea that Donald Trump has been waging a secret fight against Satan-worshipers and cannibals who those involved with the movement claim populate the ranks of Democrats.
Lamberth eventually concluded that he believed that, “with his criminal history and the facts in this case, the evidence supports” Fairlamb’s continued presence behind bars. Besides the dubious idea that Fairlamb hadn’t even been using the baton that he was holding as a weapon, Lambeth’s defense attorney Harley Breite claimed that her client’s actions constituted mere “puffery,” “hyperbole,” and “hypermasculinity,” but her defense of Fairlamb obviously didn’t sway the judge. The reality is that Fairlamb was an active participant in rioting that directly threatened the lives of top figures in the U.S. government. That’s not “hyperbole” or anything meaningfully similar.
So far, prosecutors have brought hundreds of criminal cases connected to the Capitol rioting, and the timing of many trials still appears to be an open question. Meanwhile, one rioter — Jon Schaeffer, who has been involved with the far-right militia group known as the Oath Keepers — has pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.
