Ex-Boston K-9 officer who used chair as weapon on Jan. 6 gets 20-month sentence

A former Boston K-9 officer who used a chair as a weapon during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol was sentenced to nearly a year in prison Friday, according to officials.

Joseph Robert Fisher, 52, was sentenced to 20 months in prison and 24 months of supervised release and ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution, per a press release from U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

Fisher, who is from Plymouth, Mass., pleaded guilty in February to two felony charges of civil disorder and assaulting an officer.

The defendant, according to the release, attended the "Stop the Steal" rally on Jan. 6, 2021, held by former President Trump ahead of the insurrection.

“After the rally, Fisher walked to the Capitol Building and entered it at approximately 2:24 p.m., within ten minutes of the initial breach," prosecutors wrote in court documents. "Once inside, Fisher walked to the Crypt and took photos and videos as other rioters repeatedly chanted, ‘Stop the Steal.'"

From there, he made his way to the Capitol Visitor Center's lobby and noticed another rioter in a physical altercation with the police, according to the release. He then joined in to assist the fellow rioter, who was deploying pepper spray, grabbing a chair and ramming it into the officer.

He was arrested by the FBI in March for the alleged charges.

Fisher's case drew national attention after he petitioned the Supreme Court last year to eliminate any charges related to obstructing an official proceeding.

The high court agreed to take up the challenge and earlier this year scrutinized the scope of the federal obstruction law, signaling the justices may be wary of the Justice Department's prosecution. Their ruling could have a far-reaching impact on scores of Jan. 6 defendants, and the former president.

In the 40 months the attack on the Capitol, more than 1,400 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach, including more than 500 individuals charged for assaulting or impeding law enforcement, per the release.