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Upper East Side 'dating coach' who stormed U.S. Capitol during riot gets 3.5 years for gun possession
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Apr 4, 2022
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By
Jake Offenhartz
Published Apr 4, 2022
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A conspiracy-minded men’s rights activist who bragged online about storming the U.S. Capitol was sentenced to three and a half years in prison on Monday after a search of his Upper East Side apartment turned up a cache of illegal firearms, the Manhattan district attorney said.
Samuel Fisher, 33, was charged with criminal possession of a loaded firearm, a felony in New York that carries a maximum sentence of 15 years, according to the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
Among the illegal weapons discovered in his Yorkville apartment were an AR-15 style assault rifle, a “ghost gun” pistol, a shotgun, as well as several pre-loaded high-capacity magazines, the district attorney said.
Fisher – who used the alias “Brad Holiday” on a sparsely-watched YouTube channel devoted to "helping men get high value girls” – was arrested just two weeks after the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol in 2021.
Prosecutors said that he traveled to D.C. with multiple weapons and the intention of causing harm. He later boasted about being on the “frontlines” of the riot, writing on Facebook that it was “dangerous and violent. People died...but it was fucking great if you ask me,” according to a complaint.
“Samuel Fisher is a dangerous conspiracy theorist who participated in one of the gravest attacks on our democracy,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement. “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.”
His sentencing on state charges comes on top of the federal charges he is currently facing for his role in the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. In federal court, he has pleaded not guilty to charges of entering a restricted building and disruptive conduct in a restricted building.
Fisher is one a handful of January 6th defendants who are self-described “pick-up artists,” a strain of misogynistic anti-feminism that seemed to flourish under former President Donald J. Trump. On his website, he offered to enroll men in a $150 “Attraction Accelerator” with lessons that included “How to look like a Chad” and “Face Care of the Gods.”
He also appeared to dabble in anti-Semitic and Q-Anon conspiracies, sharing articles that likened Jews to cannibals and speculating about whether Trump would hang members of the “deep state.”
On the eve of January 6th, he wrote that the event would be the “Most Historically Important Day of Our Lives.”
“Patriot[s] show up in the millions with guns,” he wrote. “They execute all the treasonous members of government and rebuild.”
Inquiries to Fisher’s attorney were not returned.
Tagged
Alvin Bragg
insurrection
Jake Offenhartz
Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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