By Daniella Espinoza and Noe Herrera
NEW YORK, NY – Samuel Fisher, present during the January 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection, took a plea deal and was found guilty of possessing a semi-automatic assault weapon, “ghost guns,” and “high-capacity magazines” this Monday, and sentenced to three and one-half years in prison.
Fisher still faces separate, federal charges over his participation on Jan. 6, including entering the Capitol building and disorderly conduct in a restricted building, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
Fisher was arrested in Manhattan after being identified online by a witness who sent screenshots of Fisher’s Facebook posts to the FBI, according to news reports.
In an affidavit provided by the U.S. Department of Justice, a special agent for the FBI stated that there were photographs that “appeared to depict Fisher holding at least one firearm.”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. announced Monday Fisher would be sentenced for the sole charge of possession of loaded firearms. He was charged originally on 17 counts.
However, while the charges were not included on the state level, a criminal complaint filed by the District of Columbia shows that Fisher was originally charged for “unlawful entry on restricted grounds” and for “disorderly conduct on restricted grounds.”
Allegedly, authorities found a “modified semi-automatic AR-15 style assault rifle, a ‘ghost gun’ pistol, a shotgun, as well as 11 pre-loaded high-capacity magazines.”
Image: The firearms authorities found in Fisher’s Upper East Side apartment. Credit: FBI
Bragg stated on Monday, “not only did [Fisher] threaten to commit violence against his fellow citizens, he had the potential to follow through with his arsenal of advanced weaponry and ammunition. Today’s sentencing makes clear that we will hold accountable those who possess illegal firearms and high-capacity magazines in our city.”
Credit: FBI
In evidence uncovered during the trial, evidence presented said Fisher was known for spreading insightful rhetoric. He can even be seen standing in front of a “Don’t Tread on Trump” flag, surrounded by various firearms and with the caption, “Can’t wait to bring a liberal back to this freedom palace.”
As early as December 3, using the alias, “Brad Holiday,” Fisher wrote on Facebook, “we must stand up to these people and take our world back… it’s time to bring the pain upon them.” Later, on December 31, he wrote “they can’t arrest us all man,” reported WUSA 9.
By December 15, mere weeks before the January 6 insurrection, Fisher published blogs with quotes such as “get a firearm and go lol, its 1776 time dawg,” and highlighted the “need to stand up to the evils of this Government… and remove them physically.”
Days after the insurrection he relished in his experience, posting on Facebook, “people died… but it was [expletive] great if you ask me… I got tear gassed and pepper sprayed.”
While Fisher had a past of spreading such rhetoric and participated in the insurrection, his home was not searched until two weeks following the event. At this time, a search warrant was finally executed on his apartment and vehicle, where the arsenal of weapons and ammunition were discovered.
Attorney Wayne Gosnell, who represented Fisher, said Fisher had been taking steps to right his wrongs, telling the judge his client had “spent the year since his arrest in therapy, attending narcotics and Alcoholics Anonymous groups daily, and making amends with his family, from whom friends had said he was estranged.”
Gosnell wrote in an email that Fisher was “gratified to be putting this chapter behind him and moving forward with his life… [given] Fisher’s unique mental health and addiction issues and [that the court] imposed a tough but fair sentence,” reported News Advocate.
