DOJ seeks nearly four-year sentence for ex-MMA fighter who punched officer on Jan. 6

The Department of Justice is seeking its harshest sentence yet relating to the Jan. 6 riot, pursuing a nearly four-year jail sentence for Scott Kevin Fairlamb, a former MMA fighter who was filmed punching a police officer in the head after breaking into the complex, Politico reports.

“Fairlamb, a former Mixed Martial Arts fighter, joined the storming of the police line on the West Terrace, obtaining a police baton and screaming ‘What Patriots do? We f—in’ disarm them and then we storm the f—in’ Capitol!’” prosecutors said in their sentencing memo, according to Politico.

“After exiting the U.S. Capitol, Fairlamb aggressively followed a line of dramatically out-numbered Metropolitan Police Department officers, screaming vitriol at them as they attempted to traverse the over-run Terrace,” the report added.

“Law enforcement officers were overwhelmed, outnumbered, and in some cases, in serious danger. The rule of law was not only disrespected; it was under attack that day,” prosecutors wrote in a court filing, according to The Associated Press said.

His sentencing is scheduled for next Wednesday. If U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth agrees with the Justice Department’s recommendation, it could lead the way for other judges to rule on the punishment for others involved in the Capitol riots on Jan. 6.

Fairlamb was arrested on Jan. 22 on five charges including assaulting a federal officer and carrying dangerous weapon, according to the Department of Justice.

He was previously indicted on 12 counts. In August, he pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of an official proceeding and another for “assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

Fairlamb’s lawyer wants the judge to sentence him to time already served.

“Had this not occurred on federal property, my client would be facing a trespassing and simple assault (case) in any municipal court in this country,” defense attorney Harley Breite said to the AP. “Most importantly, my client has expressed sincere remorse for his actions of that day. And those actions are not indicative of who he really is.”

A January criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by a “concerned citizen,” shows a man, later identified by authorities as Fairlamb, “shove and punch” an officer in front of the Capitol as former President Trump‘s supporters gathered to protest the certification of 2020 election results. 

Fairlamb is the son of a deceased New Jersey state trooper and the brother of a U.S. Secret Service agent.