Howard C. Richardson, a 72-year-old from Pennsylvania, was sentenced Friday to nearly four years in prison for beating a police officer with a Trump flag during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Richardson, who pleaded guilty in April to a charge of assaulting a law enforcement officer, went into restricted areas of the Capitol during the riot that disrupted Congress as members counted electoral votes related to the 2021 presidential election. , according to a statement. released by the Department of Justice. The Pennsylvania native told the FBI he was at the Capitol because he was “pissed off” about the 2020 presidential election and angry about alleged voter fraud, NBC reported. He waded through the crowd holding a Trump flag as he passed officers trying to keep the wave at bay. “At around 1:38 p.m., Richardson was standing several feet away from the police line on West Terrace with the flagpole,” the DOJ statement said. “He raised it and swung it downwards to strike a Metropolitan Police Department officer standing behind a metal barricade. Richardson then struck the officer twice more, using enough force to break the flagpole. Then, moments later, he was joined by other rioters in pushing a large metal sign into a line of law enforcement officers.” The government’s sentencing memo said Richardson downplayed his involvement in the attack, provided false information about his actions and falsely insisted he had flown a “Back the Blue” flag, not a Trump flag, during the riot. “Obviously out of phase [sic] “from the irony of using a pro-police symbol to attack a police officer, Richardson made this claim even though the video clearly shows his flag to be a blue and red ‘Trump’ flag,” the memo said. At the sentencing, NBC reported, Richardson apologized for his actions, saying he “lost [his] temperament” and that there is “no excuse” for what he did, but that he expected a party and “celebration” because he believed that the certification of Joe Biden’s presidential victory would stop. “I’ve learned my lesson, your honor,” Richardson told NBC. “I was coming 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’s sentencing statement. After his release, Richardson will be placed on three years of supervised release. Richardson is one of more than 860 people arrested for crimes related to the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 260 people charged with assault or obstructing law enforcement.
