NJ Capitol Rioter Sentenced To 41 Months In Prison

NORTH JERSEY — Scott Fairlamb, the New Jersey gym owner who plead guilty of assaulting a police officer during the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, was sentenced on Wednesday to 41 months in prison.

Judge Royce C. Lamberth of the District Court for the District of Columbia, ruled that Fairlamb would be sentenced to this time period for two charges to which he pleaded guilty, assaulting a police officer and obstruction of an official proceeding.

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Fairlamb, 44, said during sentencing that he woke up that morning, made the trip from New Jersey to Washington D.C. and “in a matter of moments,” did something that broke his family, after it had taken his parents so many years to build the family up.

He apologized to his family, his mother, wife and sister in particular, who had supported all of them, for putting his family name on the line in what he called “irresponsible, reckless behavior showed that day.”

Lamberth called it a “sad case,” and one that was exceptionally tragic, in that it was out of character of Fairlamb’s “whole philosophy of living,”his father having been in law enforcement and a veteran, as well as his brother with the Secret Service, who Fairlamb said he hasn't been able to speak to.

Scott Fairlamb is the younger son of the late Preston "Jay" Fairlamb Jr., who died in a motorcycle crash in 2012 at the age of 64. The elder Fairlamb was a retired New Jersey state trooper, serving as a lieutenant before retiring in 2002, according to his obituary. He primarily worked in Troop B, which covers northern New Jersey, during his 28 years as a trooper.

Preston Fairlamb III, Scott Fairlamb's brother, is a member of the Secret Service and, according to former first lady Michelle Obama's 2018 memoir, had "led my detail" at one point, CNN reported.

Weighing Consequences

Lamberth noted Fairlamb’s remorseful testimony during the sentencing hearing, as well as his history of being a police supporter in his past - as well as evidence that he had assisted officers during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot - Lamberth said video footage he watched of another spectator commenting about Fairlamb striking the police officer, particularly troubled him in the unprecedented case.

“I find it a serious crime [assaulting the officer] and I can’t go below the guidelines for a minimum of 41 months,” Lamberth said, with time served credited.

He also said that though the officer wasn’t injured, his victim impact statement showed that the whole day, including the assault, had changed his life forever.

Though Lamberth additionally found that Fairlamb's actions weren’t pre-meditated in assaulting the officer or interrupting the proceedings that day, he was one of the many contributors who helped to prevent the Electoral College decision from being made that day.

He did consider a request from Fairlamb’s attorney, Harley Breite to transfer him from the D.C. jail from conditions that Breite described as “repugnant” and “utterly shameful.” Breite said all of the Jan. 6 participants are housed in one area, Fairlamb personally threatened by one guard Breite called “Officer Holmes,” for singing “God Bless America” with the others incarcerated with him. When Fairlamb complained about the threat, Breite said Holmes approached Fairlamb again.

“I’ve never seen such a blatant disregard of inmates’ rights,” Breite added, stating the conditions had “nothing to do with the U.S. Attorney’s Office," with his attempts to communicate with Fairlamb complicated by the jail.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Leslie A Goemaat pointed out Fairlamb was the first defendant sentenced for assaulting a police officer and interrupting an official proceeding.

In their negotiations, Goematt had originally proposed 51 months in August, the maximum in sentencing guidelines, which in Goematt’s and Assistant U.S. Attorney Gauri Gopal’s sentencing memorandum, was 44 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, along with "$2,000 in restitution, a fine and the mandatory $100 special assessment for each count of conviction."

Financial Penalty

Goematt also recommended a fine for Fairlamb, in light that his wife had started a “Patriot Fund” on the Christian crowdfunding site “GiveSendGo.” During the hearing, Breite suggested 17 months time-served sentence or home detention, for Fairlamb to begin rebuilding his life. Lamberth did order the $2,000 restitution, which he said could be paid at $100 per month if needed.

In Goematt and Gopal's memorandum, which Goematt recalled during her “allocution” or formal statement to the court, they detail at about 2 p.m. on Jan. 6, as Congress' joint session was taking place about the vote count for the 2020 Presidential Election, Fairlamb, they said, was "documented" for his role "through a series of videos provided to the FBI by concerned citizens, body worn cameras from the Metropolitan Police Department, open-source video and surveillance footage from inside of the Capitol."

As part of the day, he first was with a group at the Lincoln Memorial, before he made his way to the Capitol Building's western face, where he climbed scaffolding, the memorandum states, with video stills from Fairlamb and other sources. He was then part of a group that pushed through barricades, with still images showing Fairlamb grabbing a police baton from the ground, which he later carried and created a video where he stated to "f***in' disarm them and then storm the f***in' Capitol."

After taking selfies with the baton and a pepper ball in his mouth that hadn't been detonated, the memorandum has an image of Fairlamb entering the Senate Wing Door, along with others, carrying the baton, though he left a few minutes later, against the crowd.

Fairlamb, the memorandum further detailed, then headed to U.S. Capitol Police officers "who were attempting to prevent rioters from entering through the Parliamentarian door," which Fairlamb said during a Sept. 30 interview, he was asking them if they'd like water, images later showing him taking officers around a corner of the building. More than one officer interviewed confirmed Fairlamb did offer them "water and offered to help get them out of the area," one stating he "told other people to leave the officers alone," according to the memorandum.

"People in any country should be leery to draw final conclusions of truth based upon what they read or see," Breite had said during a previous Patch interview.

However, events took a turn when Fairlamb turned on a group of officers later, which Breite had told Patch were events that "went awry" when Fairlamb "made a bad decision," which led to his shouting obscenities at officers, before sticking his finger in the face of an officer only identified as "Z.B.," who Goematt said attempted to move Fairlamb out of the way and then he punched the officers his face shield, captured on the officer's body worn camera.

Goematt described the assault during the hearing as “very swift and very violent,” which she said was characteristic of training as “an amateur MMA fighter” and boxing trainer.

The memorandum alleges that "Fairlamb appeared to subscribe to the QAnon conspiracy theory, that he traveled to Washington D.C. prepared to commit violence and that in the days following Jan. 6, he had no remorse for the events that occurred."

On Jan. 9, Fairlamb made a video in which he said Jan 6, “pulled a pin on the grenade and the blackout is coming, what a time to be a patriot.”

“In 12 years on the police force he never felt the dread and fear” was the statement the officer submitted in a victim-impact statement, not appearing in court. Fairlamb, she said through the prosecutors, apologized to the officer.

Goematt described Fairlamb as having a history of aggravated and simple assault and rhetoric, including "a history of violent threats," including a social media post made on his now deleted @FairlambFit Instagram account, with statements he reportedly made to Democratic Congresswoman Cori Bush from Missouri's 1st District. Goematt countered Breite’s statements that Fairlamb’s comments reportedly made to Bush were not “extraneous,” in that he was never charged for them, though Lamberth didn’t acknowledge them in the proceedings.

"The sum of any man's life cannot be his worst moment," Breite said during his testimony, noting Fairlamb "has and will continue to pay the price for his unacceptable actions," having lost his business and his wife, close to losing their home.

Breite, described Fairlamb as a person who made a mistake that day and characteristically "spent his life trying to help the underdog."

Breite himself is described on a film documentary website as a successful, long-haired, bowtie-wearing, confident, brash, Ferrari-driving 51-year-old lawyer, who lives with his mother and relishes taking the side of the underdog and fighting prosecutors and police officers.

His clients are the most despised people in society: serial killers, gang members, sexual predators, the site says.

Before the website for Fairlamb's gym was taken down and the phones disconnected, it said that Fairlamb's life experience and approach to training are one in the same — aggressive, focused and intense.

"With a 'no excuse' type attitude, Scott impacts the lives of his clients day in and day out. Just when you think you "can't", he will ensure that you 'can,' pushing boundaries, exceeding standards and helping you achieve nothing but greatness," the site says. Fairlamb's bio picture has this quote:

"Tell me I can't, and I will show you that I can."

Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.