Ex-MMA fighter is 1st person sentenced for assaulting police officer during Capitol riot

The Capitol riot.
(Image credit: Brent Stirton/Getty Images)

Former MMA fighter Scott Fairlamb, the first Capitol riot defendant to plead guilty to assaulting a law enforcement officer on Jan. 6, was sentenced on Wednesday to 41 months in prison.

Judge Royce Lamberth also sentenced Fairlamb, 44, to three years probation. Earlier this year, Fairlamb pleaded guilty to obstruction of an official proceeding and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers, and agreed to cooperate with the FBI and pay a $2,000 restitution, CBS News reports.

Fairlamb is a gym owner who also works as a bouncer and security guard. Several people who saw videos of Fairlamb at the Capitol notified law enforcement, and prosecutors said in one recording, he is seen punching a police officer. Citing Fairlamb's two previous assault convictions, prosecutors asked that he serve 44 months in prison.

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Speaking to Lamberth on Wednesday, Fairlamb, whose family was in the courtroom, said, "I was raised by the best," adding, "have mercy on me, sir." He called his behavior at the Capitol "completely irresponsible" and "reckless," adding, "I truly regret my actions that day."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.