WASHINGTON, D.C. – Prosecutors are asking a federal judge to sentence an Orlando man to nearly a year in prison for his role in the Capitol riot.
Robert Flynt Fairchild, a U.S. military veteran, was arrested by FBI agents in August 2021.
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He pleaded guilty to one charge of civil disorder on May 11, 2022.
According to federal documents filed on Wednesday, prosecutors asked a federal judge to sentence Fairchild to 11 months in prison for the crime.
They argued that he travelled from Orlando to Washington, D.C. to attend a Stop the Steal rally on Jan. 6, 2021.
They included photos taken from surveillance and body-worn cameras that they say showed Fairchild pulling away at least one metal barrier installed by Metropolitan Police.
They argued he joined other rioters in fighting against officers and making his way inside the Capitol while chanting “Fight for Trump,” and while others climbed through a window.
In interviews with the FBI, Fairchild said he became caught up in the moment.
According to court documents filed by Fairchild’s attorney, he wants the judge to give his client a probated sentence or home confinement.
Attorney James Skuthan argued Fairchild joined the U.S. Marine Corps after the Sept. 11 attacks and as a result suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
“On Sept. 6, 2004, during Fairchild’s second tour of duty in Iraq, Fairchild’s unit was ambushed by the enemy in an I.E.D. attack,” he wrote. “The ambush changed Fairchild’s life, and changed the lives of fellow Marines who were injured in the ambush.”
Fairchild will be sentenced on Oct. 21.
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