A New York man who was part of the mob of former President Donald J. Trump’s supporters that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and who then smoked a joint in a senator’s office, was sentenced on Thursday to three and a half years in prison.
The sentencing of the man, Brandon Craig Fellows, came about six months after a federal jury in Washington, D.C., convicted him of obstruction of an official proceeding, a felony and several misdemeanors, including illegally entering and remaining in a restricted building.
Judge Trevor N. McFadden, whom Mr. Trump appointed to the federal bench, sentenced Mr. Fellows to 37 months in prison on the riot-related charges, plus five months on a contempt of court charge.
Mr. Fellows, 29, of Schenectady, gained a measure of notoriety when, after entering the Capitol through a broken window and walking into the building’s Senate wing holding a “Trump 2020” flag, he went to the private office of Senator Jeff Merkley, Democrat of Oregon, according to court records and news reports.
Once in Mr. Merkley’s office, court documents show, Mr. Fellows plopped down in a chair, put his feet up on a conference table and lit a joint.
“What is your message?” a rioter who was livestreaming the lawlessness asked Mr. Fellows, according to court documents.
