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Howard Richardson pleaded guilty earlier this year to assaulting police officers during the Jan. 6 attack.
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He entered restricted areas of the Capitol and hit an officer with a Trump flag.
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On Friday, he was sentenced to 46 months in prison, a $2,000 fine and three years of supervised release.
Howard C. Richardson, a 72-year-old from Pennsylvania, was sentenced Friday to nearly four years in prison for hitting a police officer with a Trump flag during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Richardson, who pleaded guilty in April to a law enforcement assault charge, made his way to restricted areas of the Capitol during the riots that interrupted Congress as members counted electoral votes in connection with the 2021 presidential election, according to a statement released by the United States. Department of Justice.
The Pennsylvania resident told the FBI he was in the Capitol because he was “pissed” about the 2020 presidential election and angry about alleged voter fraud, NBC reported. He marched through the crowd with a Trump flag as he passed officers trying to keep the wave at bay.
“At approximately 1:38 PM, Richardson was standing a few feet from the police line at the West Terrace with the flagpole,” the DOJ statement said. He raised it and swung it down forcefully to hit a Metropolitan Police Department officer standing behind a metal barricade. Richardson then hit the officer twice more, with enough force to break the flagpole. Moments later he joined other rioters by pushing a large metal sign into a line of law enforcement officers.”
The government sentencing note indicated that Richardson downplayed his participation in the attack, gave false information about his actions and falsely claimed that he had carried a “Back the Blue” flag, not a Trump flag, during the riots.
“Apparently not phased [sic] due to the irony of using a pro-police symbol to attack a police officer, Richardson made this claim, although the video footage clearly shows his flag is a blue and red “Trump” flag,” the memo said.
Upon sentencing, NBC reported, Richardson apologized for his actions, saying he was “lost”. [his] mood” and that there is “no excuse” for what he did, but that he had expected a celebration and “celebration” because he thought the certification of Joe Biden’s presidential victory would be halted.
“I’ve learned my lesson, Your Honor,” NBC said, Richardson said. “I went down as a patriotic citizen to celebrate…I just want to get back to my life.”
Richardson was ordered to serve 46 months in prison and pay $2,000 in restitution, according to the DOJ statement on the conviction. After his release, Richardson will be released under surveillance for three years.
Richardson is one of more than 860 people arrested for crimes related to the Jan. 6 Capitol violation, including more than 260 charged with assaulting or obstructing law enforcement.
Read the original article on Business Insider
