星空传媒

Skip to main content

U.S. prosecutors seek 44 months in first sentence for Capitol riot violence

In this Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 file photo, supporters of former President Donald Trump gather outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Shafkat Anowar) In this Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 file photo, supporters of former President Donald Trump gather outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Shafkat Anowar)
Share

U.S. federal prosecutors on Wednesday recommended a prison sentence of nearly four years for a New Jersey gym owner who is on track to be the first person sentenced for assaulting a law enforcement officer during the riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Scott Fairlamb's sentencing, scheduled for next Wednesday, could guide other judges in deciding the appropriate punishment for dozens of other rioters who engaged in violence at the Capitol that day.

Prosecutors said Fairlamb, one of one of the first rioters to breach the Capitol, incited and emboldened other rioters around him with his violent actions.

鈥淟aw enforcement officers were overwhelmed, outnumbered, and in some cases, in serious danger. The rule of law was not only disrespected; it was under attack that day,鈥 prosecutors wrote in a court filing.

If U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth adopts the Justice Department's recommendation for a 44-month prison term, Fairlamb's sentence would be the longest for a rioter. An 8-month prison term is the longest sentence among the nearly two dozen rioters who have been sentenced so far. A man who posted threats connected to Jan. 6 but didn't storm the Capitol was sentenced to 14 months in prison.

Defense attorney Harley Breite said during an interview Wednesday that he intends to ask Lamberth to sentence Fairlamb to the time he already has served in jail, allowing for his immediate release. Fairlamb has been jailed since his Jan. 22 arrest at his home in Stockholm, New Jersey.

鈥淗ad this not occurred on federal property, my client would be facing a trespassing and simple assault (case) in any municipal court in this country,鈥 Breite said. 鈥淢ost importantly, my client has expressed sincere remorse for his actions of that day. And those actions are not indicative of who he really is.鈥

Fairlamb, a 44-year-old former mixed martial arts fighter, owned Fairlamb Fit gym in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey. He is the brother of a Secret Service agent who was assigned to protect former first lady Michelle Obama, according to defense attorney Harley Breite.

Fairlamb picked up a police baton as he joined the mob that broke past a line of police officers and breached the Capitol, according to prosecutors. A video showed him holding the collapsible baton and shouting, 鈥淲hat (do) patriots do? We f--- disarm them and then we storm the f--- Capitol!鈥

After he left the building, Fairlamb shoved and punched a Metropolitan Police Department officer in the face, an attack captured on video by a bystander. The officer said he didn't suffer any physical injuries, according to prosecutors.

Fairlamb pleaded guilty to two counts, obstruction of an official proceeding and assaulting the police officer. The counts carry a maximum of more than 20 years in prison, but sentencing guidelines calculated by the court's probation department recommend a term of imprisonment ranging from 41 to 51 months. Lamberth isn't bound by any of the recommendations.

More than 100 law enforcement officers were injured during the deadly insurrection, according to prosecutors. At least nine people who were at the Capitol on Jan. 6 died during or after the rioting, including Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who collapsed after he was sprayed by rioters with a chemical irritant. Four other police officers have died by suicide.

Fairlamb's social media accounts indicated that he subscribed to the QAnon conspiracy theory and promoted a bogus claim that former President Donald Trump would become the first president of 鈥渢he new Republic鈥 on March 4, prosecutors wrote. QAnon has centered on the baseless belief that Trump was fighting against a cabal of Satan-worshipping, child sex trafficking cannibals, including 鈥渄eep state鈥 enemies, prominent Democrats and Hollywood elites.

CTVNews.ca 星空传媒

Top Hezbollah commander among 12 killed in Israeli strike on Beirut

Israel killed a top Hezbollah commander and several members of the group's elite Radwan unit in an airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday, the Israeli military and a security source in Lebanon said, sharply escalating the year-long conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed group.

Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

An Ontario man says it is 'unfair' to pay a $1,500 insurance surcharge because his four-year-old SUV is at a higher risk of being stolen.

The province's public security minister said he was "shocked" Thursday amid reports that a body believed to be that of a 14-year-old boy was found this week near a Hells Angels hideout near Quebec City.

Local Spotlight

They say a dog is a man鈥檚 best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.

Edmontonians can count themselves lucky to ever see one tiger salamander, let alone the thousands one local woman says recently descended on her childhood home.