A New Jersey gym owner in jail awaiting trial for his alleged role in the breach of the U.S. Capitol last month has been indicted on charges including assaulting an officer and carrying a dangerous weapon.
The 12-count indictment released recently in Washington also charged Scott Fairlamb with offenses including civil disorder, disorderly conduct and acts of violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings.
Fairlamb, who has leukemia, has been in custody in New Jersey since his arrest last month and recently suffered a heart attack while in jail in Hudson County, his attorney, Harley Breite, said Friday.
A federal judge in New Jersey initially ordered Fairlamb released on $50,000 bond last month with electronic monitoring, but detained him after prosecutors objected. Breite said Friday he is working to schedule another hearing to try to get Fairlamb released as he awaits a potential trial in Washington.
An affidavit filed in the case last month showed a photo of someone authorities identified as Fairlamb allegedly punching a police officer in the head. A different photo allegedly showed Fairlamb picking up a collapsible baton that had fallen on the ground and putting it under his arm.
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According to the affidavit, a video showed Fairlamb with the baton suggesting that patriots would “disarm them” and “storm” the Capitol.
The crime of carrying a dangerous weapon while illegally entering a restricted building to disrupt government business is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, according to court documents filed by the government last month.
A friend of Fairlamb’s identified him, and the FBI also compared still photos and videos of Fairlamb at the Capitol with his driver’s license photo, according to court documents. Fairlamb, a former mixed martial arts fighter, owns a gym in Pompton Lakes and lives in Stockholm, in northwestern New Jersey.
“My client has a long history of supporting law enforcement agencies throughout this country, and we hope that people don’t rush to judgment before hearing all of the facts,” Breite said Friday.
More than 200 people have been charged in the Capitol breach, including at least 10 from New Jersey.
