WA Man Among First To Plead Guilty In Jan. 6 Capitol Breach

PUYALLUP, WA— A Puyallup man is one of the first Americans to plead guilty for taking part in the Jan. 6 insurrection and riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Devlyn Thompson, 28, of Puyallup, and Scott Kevin Fairlamb, 44, of Stockholm, New Jersey both pleaded guilty to assaulting Metropolitan Police Department officers during the Capitol breach, the Department of Justice reported Friday. They are the first to enter guilty pleas related to the breach.

During the "Stop the Steal" riot, Thompson reportedly joined a crowd of people in the Capitol's lower west terrace. There, the group attacked a group of officers defending a tunnel leading into the Capitol building, according to DOJ court documents. For his plea, Thompson admitted he and others had thrown objects at Capitol Police officers, had stolen officer's riot shields to prevent them from defending themselves, and that he encouraged others in the crowd to do the same.

At one point, the DOJ says Thompson picked up a police baton and swung it at an officer as that officer tried to pepper spray the crowd.

Thompson pleaded guilty to assaulting, resisting or impeding officers while using a dangerous weapon. His sentencing is set for Sept. 27, where he faces up to 20 years in prison, plus three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.

The other charged rioter, Scott Kevin Fairlamb, first climbed the west terrace scaffolding. The DOJ says Fairlamb then recorded and posted a video to Instagram of himself illegally entering the Capitol building. Like Thompson, he also stole a discarded police baton, and was later arrested for shoving and punching an officer unprovoked, according to court documents.

Fairlamb's guilty plea includes obstruction of an official proceeding and assaulting, resisting or impeding police officers. His sentencing is also set for Sept. 27. Fairlamb faces up to 28 years in prison and $500,000 in fines.

In the half-year since Jan. 6, more than 570 people from across the country have been arrested for crimes related to the insurrection and riot. Of those, more than 170 have been charged with either assaulting or impeding law enforcement.

Five people died as a result of the breach, including U.S. Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick. Another 138 officers were injured. In addition, four officers who survived the incident later died by suicide, Reuters reported.