Capitol rioter who smoked marijuana in a senator’s office sentenced to prison

January 6, 2021 A Capitol rioter who smoked marijuana in a senator’s office was sentenced Thursday to 3 1/2 years in prison.

Brandon Fellows, 29, of New York, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden to 37 months in prison and five months in prison for contempt of court.

He was found guilty by a jury last August of felonies of entering and remaining in a “restricted building,” disorderly and disruptive conduct on restricted grounds, and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. . according to to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

During the Jan. 6 riot, Fellows, a chimney repairman, entered the Capitol through a broken window. After briefly entering a Congressional chamber, he arrived at the office of Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), where he smoked marijuana. He then joined other rioters who were walking through the Capitol basement before leaving “the same way they came.”

“It’s just a bunch of people lighting up a room somewhere in Oregon,” Fellows said at the time, according to the Justice Department.

Associates called Judge McFadden a “modern-day Nazi.”

“In all my years as a judge, I have never seen such disrespectful conduct as a litigator,” McFadden said during Thursday’s sentencing, according to the newspaper. He also mentioned that he had insulted the judge by interfering with him. washington post.

“There’s no massive conspiracy against you here,” McFadden said. “It’s time for you to become an adult.”

Since January 6, 2021, more than 1,300 people have been charged in connection with the Capitol riot. More than 400 people have been charged with assaulting law enforcement, and investigations into the violations are ongoing, the Justice Department said.