A gym owner and former MMA fighter from New Jersey who punched a police officer during the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 has been sentenced to 41 months in prison this Wednesday, making him the first Capitol riot defendant sentenced for violence against police during the attack, CNN reports.
Scott Fairlamb pleaded guilty in August to assaulting a police officer and obstructing an official proceeding.
From CNN:
Fairlamb’s sentence will likely set an early benchmark for how harshly rioters charged with violence may be punished, and it ushers in a new phase of the US Capitol riot cases, which so far have had only nonviolent defendants sentenced largely to no jail time.
“I truly regret my actions that day. I have nothing but remorse,” Fairlamb said in court Wednesday with tears in his eyes as he asked the judge for “mercy.”
Fairlamb said he had disappointed his family, including his father, who was a veteran, and noted that since his arrest he has not spoken to his brother who is a Secret Service agent, “out of respect for his position and our government.”
“My life got pulled out from under me, and it’s no one’s fault but myself,” he said.
Read the full report over at CNN.
