Capitol rioter sentenced on New York gun charge
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Monday, April 4, 2022
The Manhattan Supreme Court yesterday sentenced self-styled dating coach Samuel Fisher, 33, alias Brad Holiday, to 3.5 years in New York state prison for illegal possession of a modified semiautomatic AR-15 rifle. Fisher participated in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Law enforcement found the rifle, along with other weapons and a large cache of ammunition, because of social media posts Fisher had made. Fischer pleaded guilty.
District Attorney Alvin Bragg called Fisher “a dangerous conspiracy theorist who participated in one of the gravest attacks on our democracy.” Bragg went on to claim “Not only did he threaten to commit violence against his fellow citizens, he had the potential to follow through with his arsenal of advanced weaponry and ammunition.”
Fisher was initially arrested on January 20, 2021. Law enforcement found him with machetes, ballistics vests, the loaded AR-15, a homemade pistol called a “ghost gun,” and over 1000 rounds of ammunition.
Fisher’s lawyer said Fisher had been suffering from alcohol addiction when he committed his crimes and that Fisher has since undergone treatment for both addiction and mental health issues.
Fisher, who had pleaded guilty to gun possession, apologized for his actions in court: “I’ve tried as best I can to make amends to those I’ve hurt and also to address the problems that led me here.”
Judge Robert Mandelbaum decided “That he didn’t act on any of his many [concerning] threats doesn’t take away the seriousness of the offense,” and “This extremely serious crime mandates a serious prison sentence.”
On January 6, 2021, a large crowd of pro-Donald Trump protesters stormed into the U.S. Capitol building where Vice President Mike Pence and the U.S. Congress were trying to count the votes from the 2020 U.S. presidential election that placed Joe Biden in the White House. There were five deaths and about US$1.5 million in property damage.
Like many other participants in the riots, Fisher posted about the events of that day on social media. One Facebook post reads “people died . . . but it was f—–g great if you ask me . . . i got tear gassed and pepper sprayed.”
Fisher also faces federal charges of entering and remaining in a restricted building and disorderly conduct, to which he has pleaded not guilty. His next federal hearing is in May.
Fisher describes himself as dating coach and posted online under the name “Brad Holiday.” His videos contain information telling men how to convince “high value girls” using his “pickup system” and on far-right issues, such as the Q-anon conspiracy theory.