Prosecutors are seeking over three and a half years in prison — 44 months to be exact — for Scott Fairlamb, a Capitol rioter who assaulted police while on the premises back in January. Specifically, Fairlamb was caught on camera punching an officer in the head, and now, his case is the first of the well over 100 involving assault on law enforcement at the Capitol that day to reach the sentencing phase. Fairlamb did, however, plead guilty to another felony charge as well: obstruction of an official proceeding. Still, the fact that prosecutors are seeking over three and a half years in prison for Fairlamb, even after he entered a plea deal, suggests that rioters facing similar charges can expect similarly strict consequences.
A sentencing memo from prosecutors outlined Fairlamb’s actions, explaining how “Fairlamb, a former Mixed Martial Arts fighter, joined the storming of the police line on the West Terrace, obtaining a police baton and screaming ‘What Patriots do? We fuckin’ disarm them and then we storm the fuckin’ Capitol!’ After exiting the U.S. Capitol, Fairlamb aggressively followed a line of dramatically out-numbered Metropolitan Police Department officers, screaming vitriol at them as they attempted to traverse the over-run Terrace.” Prosecutors add that “[after] isolating an MPD officer from his fellow officers, Fairlamb shoved the officer and then punched his face shield.” If Fairlamb ever seriously convinced himself that harassing and assaulting officers at the Capitol could end any other way than with him facing the potential of years in prison, that would be utterly ridiculous.
Feds recommend 44 months prison for Scott Fairlamb, who pleaded guilty to police assault on Jan 6. Feds said he punched, shoved police. Photo shows him posing w pepper ball in mouth.
He allegedly posted after 1/6 "They pulled the pin on the grenade and the blackout
is coming" pic.twitter.com/sqkcTzT04n— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) November 4, 2021
In the initial aftermath of the assault on the Capitol, Fairlamb showed no remorse. Instead, he proclaimed after Twitter kicked Trump off its platform for inciting violence that “they pulled the pin on the grenade, and the blackout is coming,” suggesting further instances like what took place at the Capitol. Through all of these developments, Trump himself has both continued to push the lies about the integrity of last year’s election that inspired the violence and proclaimed his allegiance to the rioters’ cause on a more personal level. In a recent public statement, he said in reference to his false claims of election fraud that the “insurrection took place on November 3, Election Day. January 6 was the Protest!” When the standard-bearer of a major political party openly excuses political violence in such a way, there’s a serious problem.
NEW!
"The insurrection took place on November 3, Election Day. January 6 was the Protest!" – President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/3vjF4mwq3K
— Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) October 21, 2021
