Upper East Side Man Facing Capitol Riot Charge Gets Prison Over Guns

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A misogynistic "dating coach" who was arrested on the Upper East Side after being accused of storming the U.S. Capitol has now been sentenced to prison on weapons possession charges, prosecutors said Monday.

Samuel Fisher, 33, was sentenced to 3½ years in prison for keeping loaded firearms in an Upper East Side apartment, which authorities searched when they arrested him weeks after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. A federal case against Fisher alleging participating in the riot is still pending.

Fisher was arrested the morning of Jan. 20, 2021, outside 415 East 90th St., between First and York avenues. Fisher had been living in the building, but it is unclear whom the apartment belonged to; Fisher told the FBI after his arrest that he "had only been staying there a few days."

"What's happening? This is bulls--t," Fisher told an NYPD officer during his arrest, according to court documents. "You wouldn't have done this to Black Lives Matter," he told a group of FBI agents at the scene.

Inside the first-floor apartment, authorities found a modified, semiautomatic AR-15-style assault rifle, a "ghost gun" pistol, a shotgun, and 11 pre-loaded high-capacity magazines, according to prosecutors. Fisher's Chevrolet Tahoe SUV was parked a few blocks away on East 88th Street, where authorities found ammunition, a shotgun and other weaponry, according to prosecutors.

Fisher did not have a license to possess any of the firearms in New York City, prosecutors said. Fisher pleaded guilty to the weapons charges but has pleaded not guilty to the federal charges he faces accusing him of entering the Capitol building.

Fisher, who called himself "Brad Holiday," was a vocal supporter of then-President Donald Trump and subscriber to the QAnon conspiracy theory — beliefs he documented on his website. On the website and a Facebook page, Fisher regularly posted relationship and business advice — sometimes laden with misogynistic and homophobic language — and promoted baseless conspiracy theories alleging rampant pedophilia in the upper ranks of government.

"Is Satanism a good thing? Should we conjure demons to get our goals met like the Left does?" he said in one video recorded before the riot, the New York Times reported. "Are women trustworthy in 2020? You tell me; I'll tell you no."

For weeks leading up to the Jan. 6 riot, Fisher wrote on his website about his plans to join the fray.

"At 1 when congress certifies the election… Trump just needs to fire the bat signal… deputize patriots… and then the pain comes," Fisher wrote the day before the riot.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg called Fisher "a dangerous conspiracy theorist," in a statement following Monday's sentencing.

"Not only did he threaten to commit violence against his fellow citizens, he had the potential to follow through with his arsenal of advanced weaponry and ammunition," Bragg said.

Fisher was raised in New Jersey, where he suffered from bullying that led him to believe "everybody was out to get him, including women," a friend told the Times last year.

Over time, he became engrossed in online conspiracy theories like QAnon, became devoted to Trump, and cultivated a hatred of women, as the Times documented.

Fisher's arrest last Jan. 20 came after a tipster contacted the FBI and shared photographs showing him participating in the storming of the Capitol, including one where he appears to be standing atop the Capitol steps, according to an affidavit filed by an FBI field agent.

"im headed to dc on the 5th," Fisher wrote on Facebook on Dec. 30, 2020, later adding that he was staying in an Airbnb in Washington.

One day after the riot, responding to a question about whether he had been on the "frontlines," Fisher responded: "i was there . . . it was awesome," according to the FBI.

"People died . . . but it was f---ing great if you ask me . . . i got tear gassed and pepper sprayed."

All told, more than 700 people are facing charges in connection with the insurrection — including at least 13 who were arrested in New York City.

Previous coverage:

• Upper East Side's Alleged Insurrectionist Still Free 1 Year Later
• Man Arrested On Upper East Side Stormed Capitol, FBI Says