A New Jersey man, who was caught on video storming the U.S. Capitol and later punching a police officer in the face during the Jan. 6 attack, was sentenced Wednesday to more than 3 years in federal prison — the most severe punishment a Capitol rioter defendant has faced yet in connection to the attack.
Senior U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth said he could not “in good conscience” sentence Scott Fairlamb, 44, below the sentencing guidelines, which called for a sentence of 41 to 51 months, due to the seriousness of the case. Lamberth sentenced him to 41 months.
Fairlamb is the highest profile Capitol riot defendant to be sentenced yet. Fairlamb was indicted earlier this year on a dozen charges, but he pleaded guilty in August to one count of obstruction and one count of assaulting an officer.
Prosecutors had been seeking a 44-month prison sentence, noting that the Sussex County man showed “an absolute disregard for the rule of law coupled with a willingness to incite and engage in violence” during the attack on the Capitol.
“(Fairlamb) definitely was there to interfere with democracy,” assistant U.S. Attorney Leslie Goemaat said at the sentencing Wednesday.
He can be seen on video climbing on scaffolding outside the Capitol, being one of the first people to enter the Capitol, inciting others to cause mayhem, hurling insults at law enforcement and later punching an officer who was defending the government building, prosecutors said.
“What (do) Patriots do? We f-----’ disarm them and then we storm the f-----’ Capitol,” Fairlamb can be heard saying at one point on a Facebook video.
Fairlamb told federal authorities in a recent interview that “he had been duped by the social media that he had consumed prior to the riot and was deeply regretful for his conduct on January 6,” according to a sentencing memo filed by prosecutors.
“He stated that he felt great shame over his conduct on January 6,” the memo says.
Authorities said Scott Fairlamb was one of the first people to enter the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
In speaking to the court Wednesday, Fairlamb, whose father was a decorated state trooper and whose brother served as a Secret Service agent who once led Michelle Obama’s detail, again expressed regret and took responsibilities for his actions.
“That is not Scott Fairlamb,” Fairlamb said, often fighting back tears as he spoke for around 10 minutes. “That is not who I am. That is not who I was raised to be. I truly regret my actions that day. I have nothing but remorse.”
Harley Breite, his attorney, argued that Fairlamb be sentenced to time-served and released on six months of home confinement. The attorney said Fairlamb’s conduct on Jan. 6 was “absolutely aberrational” and said it went against who Fairlamb had been most of his life, including as a small-business owner and someone who donated his time to the community.
Breite said his client no longer holds the ideologies that led him to drive from New Jersey to the Capitol in the early morning hours of Jan. 6.
“The sum of any man’s life cannot be his worst moment,” Breite said.
Judge Lamberth described it as “a sad case,” noting how at one point Fairlamb stopped to ask officers if they needed help during the attack on the Capitol. But ultimately, the judge said the seriousness of the case required him to hand down an appropriate sentence.
In court Wednesday, Goemaat, the prosecutor, ran through Fairlamb’s day on Jan. 6, starting with him attending the “Stop the Steal” rally and boasting about being in town to “defend our Constitution.”
“How far are you willing to go to defend our Constitution?” Fairlamb posted on Facebook at 6:43 a.m. on Jan. 6. “Made the trip solo, looking to meet my fellow Patriots who share the same beliefs. Put up or shut up.”
From there, the criminal case against Fairlamb was based on videos provided to the FBI by concerned citizens, body worn camera from the Metropolitan Police Department, open-source video and surveillance footage from inside of the Capitol, according to the sentencing memo.
“You couldn’t have beat this if this went to trial,” Judge Lamberth said.
Videos showed Fairlamb climb the scaffolding on the Capitol grounds and posting a video on top of the structure where he yelled, “We ain’t f------ leaving either! We ain’t f------ leaving!” Prosecutors said he was “inciting” the crowd.
Shortly thereafter, surveillance video showed Fairlamb as one of the first individuals to breach the Capitol. He entered in 30 seconds after the Senate wing door was kicked open by rioters who had just smashed through windows, prosecutors said.
At one point after leaving the Capitol, officers defending the building told investigators that Fairlamb actually offered them water and asked how he could help.
However, 30 minutes later, Fairlamb could be seen “following and harassing” a line of police officers, prosecutors said. He was eventually caught on video shoving and punching an officer in the face.
Fairlamb can be seen screaming at police officers moments before video shows him punching one of them.
But prosecutors argued it wasn’t just his action that day that warranted a stiff sentence. In their sentencing memo, they said Fairlamb was apparently “girding for war” in the days after storming the Capitol.
“They pulled the pin on the grenade, and the blackout is coming,” Fairlamb said in a video two days after the attack, according to the sentencing memo. “What a time to be a patriot.”
He was convinced that Trump would regain power on March 4, prosecutors said, a popular theory among QAnon followers, a far-right conspiracy theory movement that falsely believed a powerful group of Satan-worshipping pedophiles were undermining the 2020 election and former President Donald Trump’s re-election hopes.
“But what will happen with all these unhinged liberals if this happens?” someone asked him on Instagram on Jan. 9.
“War Vs patriots,” he responded, adding that “They don’t want that lol.”
Fairlamb also told someone online that he wasn’t worried and that he would “go again” to the U.S. Capitol.
In the nearly 11 months since his arrest, Fairlamb “has most definitely learned the error of his ways and understands what led him to make such poor decisions,” Breite wrote in his memo arguing for a lesser sentence.
“He is sincerely remorseful and will never repeat the crimes to which he pled guilty,” Breite wrote. “Mr. Fairlamb has a family ready to provide strong support for his return as a law-abiding and productive member of society.”
Fairlamb has raised over $30,000 in an online fundraiser since his arrest. He and his attorney said Fairlamb’s health has been neglected at a Washington, D.C. jail and that Fairlamb’s gym he owned has been forced to close.
“We swallow our pride as we graciously ask for your support to help us save what we have worked for our entire lives, our home,” Fairlamb wrote on the fundraiser page. “Any donation is appreciated and will certainly be paid forward once we get back on our feet.”
“God Bless You & God Bless America,” he concluded.
Prosecutors said Fairlamb should not be able to “capitalize” off his role in the attack and asked the judge to impose a fine, though Lamberth did not assess a fine. The judge did sentence Fairlamb to three years of supervised release after he serves his sentence.
“Moving forward, I’m ready to pick up the pieces and write a new chapter in my life and put this in the rearview mirror,” Fairlamb told the judge. “Go home with my family and get back to doing what I do best.”
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Joe Atmonavage may be reached at [email protected].
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