WASHINGTON — A federal judge repeatedly admonished a New York chimney repairman for his contemptuous behavior and “utter lack of remorse” Thursday before sentencing him to just over three years in prison for obstructing the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021.
Brandon Fellows, 29, of Schenectady, was convicted in August of one felony count of obstruction of an official proceeding and four misdemeanors for his role in the Capitol riot. At trial, prosecutors showed Fellows entering the U.S. Capitol through a broken window and then proceeding to Sen. Jeff Merkley’s (D-OR) office, where he smoked marijuana. Fellows then joined rioters in the Crypt before heckling officers who didn’t have helmets on his way out of the building. Prosecutors said Fellows then posted extensively on social media, “glorifying the violence of his fellow rioters.”
Fellows was initially granted pretrial release but had his bond revoked after multiple violations, including calling the mother of his probation officer. His defiant behavior continued following his rearrest. Fellows fired multiple attorneys and ultimately chose to represent himself – including during a disastrous bond review hearing in which he appeared to admit to illegally attempting to get judges removed from cases in D.C. and New York. In addition to his conviction at trial, Fellows was also found in criminal contempt of court for repeated outbursts, including calling the proceeding a “kangaroo court” and a “nazi court.”
Federal prosecutors sought a top-of-the-guidelines sentence o 37 months in prison – describing him as a “cheerleader” for violent rioters and saying he could be expected to be back at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2025, if his preferred candidate again doesn’t win.
At his sentencing hearing Thursday, U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden agreed. McFadden, a former deputy assistant attorney general who was nominated to the federal bench by former President Donald Trump in 2017, said in all his years in law he had never seen a defendant as contemptuous as Fellows.
“You have repeatedly made a mockery of these proceedings,” McFadden said, noting Fellows had shown the “height of contempt” for all three branches of government and had “flagrantly lied” on the stand at trial. McFadden also pushed back against Fellows’ belief that he was the victim of a “grand conspiracy” against him.
“It is, rather, your defiance of any and every attempt to try to get your actions to conform to what the law requires that has gotten you to this point,” McFadden said, adding in exasperation a short time later, “It’s time for you to grow up!”
Fellows will receive credit for approximately 32 months already spent in detention but will have to serve an additional five months behind bars for criminal contempt after the time from his Jan. 6 sentence is completed. McFadden ordered Fellows to spend three years under supervision following his release.