WASHINGTON — A Virginia father and son who fled oppression in Iran three decades ago were sentenced Friday to years in federal prison for assaulting police during the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Farhad Azari, 65, and his son Farbod “Francis” Azari, 33, pleaded guilty in January to two felony counts each of assaulting police with a dangerous weapon and civil disorder. The men were identified to the FBI by at least two witnesses roughly a week after the riot – including one who reported seeing a text from the younger Azari about Jan. 6 claiming, “We are warriors, we did that” – and were arrested in early 2023.
According to charging documents, both Azaris joined the mob assault on police on the west side of the Capitol. In a statement of offense filed as part of his plea deal, Farbod admitted to helping other rioters dismantle a section of black fence, throwing water bottles at police and swinging a flagpole with a pro-Trump flag attached at officers before throwing it at them “like a spear.”
As part of his plea, the elder Azari also admitted to joining the mob’s push against the police line on the west side of the Capitol and to throwing a water bottle, flagpole and air horn at officers. The elder Azari entered the Capitol twice, including during the first breach of the Senate Wing doors.
Prosecutors sought 57 months, or roughly 4.75 years, in prison for each Azari. In a sentencing memo filed last month, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kyle McWaters and Taylor Fontan said the Azaris “chose to be extremely violent on January 6, 2021, seemingly without regret.”
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth sentenced Farhad to 30 months, or roughly 2.5 years, in prison and Farbod to 50 months, or a little more than four years. Lamberth, a Reagan nominee who has sentenced numerous Jan. 6 defendants to lengthy prison terms, said he was moved by the sentencing memos filed by the Azaris and decided to grant a rare downward departure for the elder defendant due to his age and health.
The elder Azari’s attorney, Stephen Brennwald, said his client, the grandson of a Sephardic Jew, fled Iran with his family after the Iranian Revolution in 1979. The family first went to Pakistan and then to Australia before arriving in the U.S. with the assistance of an aid organization. They ultimately settled in Virginia, where Farhad described getting a job changing tires and eventually working his way to owning his own business. Farhad said he came to the Capitol on Jan. 6 because he appreciated Trump for the Abraham Accords – an agreement that established full diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain – and he believed Trump when he said the election was stolen, which he feared was another “coup” like he witnessed in Iran.
“We fled because of dictatorship,” Farhad said. “And because of people hanging in the street every morning because of their opinion.”
The younger Azari, Farbod, was represented by attorneys Mark Rollins and Camille Wagner. He told Judge Lamberth he felt a “deep sadness and regret” and wanted to take responsibility for what he’d done.
“No one told me to throw a bottle. I chose to throw it,” Farbod said. “No one told me to pick up a flagpole. I chose to pick it up. I want to take responsibility fully and nothing less.”
After hearing from both Azaris, Lamberth told Farhad he’d “raised a good kid” and that he appreciated both of their expressions of regret and the explanations for why they’d done what they did on Jan. 6.
“Ya’ll chose this country. I think we’re lucky to have people like you come to our country,” Lamberth said. “I’ve been criticized for saying I think people like you are good people. I stand by it.”
Both Azaris requested a recommendation for placement at FCI Allenwood in Pennsylvania. They will receive credit for time already spent in detention since their plea hearing in January.