(Bloomberg) -- A self-styled dating coach from Manhattan who participated in the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot and gushed online about “seeing cops literally run” was sentenced to three and a half years behind bars for multiple New York firearms violations.

Samuel Fisher, a 33-year-old QAnon conspiracy theorist who ran a Facebook account called “LuxLife Dating Coach” out of his Upper East Side apartment, was sentenced Monday by Judge Robert Mandelbaum in state court in Manhattan. While the weapons weren’t used in the Capitol riot, Fisher possessed them illegally, the judge said.  

“The defendant chose to arm himself to the teeth with a large variety of dangerous weapons,” Mandelbaum said. “The fact that he didn’t take action doesn’t take away from the seriousness of the offense.”

Fisher, an avid supporter of former President Donald Trump who believed the 2020 election was rigged, pleaded guilty in April 2021 to illegal possession of a modified semi-automatic AR-15 style rifle, a so-called ghost gun pistol, a loaded shotgun and about a dozen pre-loaded high-capacity magazines, court records show.

Fisher posted images of himself online in front of various firearms and a Trump 2020 flag. His views included support for QAnon, which claims the U.S. is secretly run by a cabal of blood-drinking communists and pedophiles.

During his sentencing Monday, Fisher said he knew “what I did was wrong, and I accept that my actions have consequences. I have tried as best I could to make amends to those I hurt and also address the problems that led me here.”

In Washington federal court, Fisher faces a separate criminal case related to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of unlawful entry and disorderly conduct on restricted grounds.

After Riot

The assault weapon was seized from Fisher’s apartment a few weeks after the riot during a raid by the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force. Authorities also accessed his social media accounts, which contained a wide array of commentary about his participation in the riot.

“Seeing cops literally run...was the coolest thing ive ever seen in my life,” Fisher said to a friend, according to court filings by the government.

New York state prosecutors said in a pre-sentencing memorandum that a stiff prison term was needed to discourage illegal behavior driven by “toxic” and “politically convenient” rhetoric and conspiracy theories.

On the day of the riot, Fisher published a blog post titled, “January 6, 2021 Will Be the Most Historically Important Day of Our Lives,” to his website, which he ran under the alias “Brad Holiday,” saying then President-elect Joe Biden was a “communist agent” and that Trump had an “ace up his sleeve.”

“Trump just needs to fire the bat signal…deputize patriots…and then the pain comes,” Fisher said, according to court filings.

(Updates with comments from judge, defendant and background on case.)

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