Gym Owner, Ex-MMA Fighter Sentenced to 41 Months for Role in Jan. 6 Capitol Riots

Gym owner and former MMA fighter Scott Fairlamb was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for punching a police officer during the Capitol riot that took place in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, according to Politico.

Fairlamb, 44, is the first defendant charged with assaulting an officer to face sentencing. Royce Lamberth, the federal judge who imposed the sentence, said he expects Fairlamb’s term will be lower than the others who are facing charges stemming from the riot. Fairlamb’s decision to plead guilty and expression of remorse helped lower his sentence, according to Lamberth.

“Had you gone to trial, I don’t think there’s any jury that could have acquitted you or would have acquitted you,” Lamberth said. “You couldn’t have beat this.”

Fairlamb will also face 36 months of supervised release after he gets out of prison.

Fairlamb was reportedly one of the first people to enter the Capitol on Jan. 6, carrying a stolen police baton on his way through a door that had been kicked open. Prosecutors played a video of Fairlamb urging the mob onward while saying, “We f—-ing disarm them and we storm the Capitol.” Fairlamb was also overheard shouting profanities at police officers. Fairlamb celebrated the attack in a social media post that was later deleted.

During sentencing, Fairlamb was tearful as he asked for leniency and claimed that he has a history of supporting law enforcement. His brother is a Secret Service agent who led former First Lady Michelle Obama’s security detail.

“That is not Scott Fairlamb,” Fairlamb said in court. “That’s not who I am. That’s not who I was raised to be. I truly regret my actions that day.”

A native of Butler, N.J., Fairlamb has one professional MMA bout to his credit, a second-round submission loss to Michael Andrillo at Ring of Combat 31 on September 24, 2010. He also was the owner of Fairlamb Fit, in Pompton Lakes, N.J, which closed after his arrest.