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Brandon Fellows, age 29, of Schenectady, was sentenced to 3 ½ years in federal lockup on Thursday, Feb. 29 after a Washington, DC jury found him guilty of obstructing an official proceeding, a felony.
“His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the US Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the presidential election,” the US Attorney’s Office said.
According to prosecutors, Fellows joined a mob of rioters who illegally entered the Capitol grounds and made their way to the Upper West Terrace by scaling a wall in order to get “a better spot, just like at a concert.”
He then entered the Capitol building through a broken window near the Senate Wing door at around 2:50 p.m.
Surveillance footage showed him wearing a fake beard made of red yarn, a hat in the shape of a knight’s helmet, and sunglasses. He also donned a flag and a trash can lid used as a shield.
Once inside the building, Fellows made his way to the office of Oregon Sen. Jeffrey Merkley, where he was photographed smoking marijuana with his feet up on a desk.
“I walked in and there’s just a whole bunch of people lighting up in some Oregon room. They were smoking a bunch of weed in there,” prosecutors quoting him telling a reporter afterward.
He then went to the Capitol crypt and walked around before finally leaving the building at around 3:45 p.m.
In the days after the Capitol breach, Fellows bragged about his participation on social media, writing in one post that it “brought my heart joy to see these members terrified for their lives. For what they have done and are doing to this country I hope they live in constant fear.”
He was arrested by FBI agents in New York City on Jan. 16, 2021.
Fellows, a handyman and former high school wrestling standout who attended Hudson Valley Community College and lived in a converted school bus, represented himself at trial.
In addition to the felony charge, jurors convicted him of the following misdemeanor charges on Aug. 31, 2023:
- Entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds
- Disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds
- Entering and remaining in certain rooms in the Capitol building
- Disorderly conduct in a Capitol building
US District Judge Trevor McFadden gave Fellows an additional five months behind bars for a contempt of court charge, bringing his total sentence to 3 ½ years.
In the three years since the Capitol riots, more than 1,300 people have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach, including over 469 people charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.
Anyone with tips can contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or visit the agency’s website.
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