A Pennsylvania man was sentenced Friday to 46 months in federal jail for attacking a police officer with a Donald Trump flag throughout the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
The newspaper reported that Howard Richardson, 72, of King of Prussia, informed the courtroom in Washington “there’s no excuse” for his conduct and pleaded for mercy.
But U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly responded, “Your presence and actions in joining other insurrectionists was an inexcusable attack on our democracy.”
Richardson’s sentence is likely one of the longest but amongst those that have been prosecuted for storming the Capitol on Jan. 6 to disrupt the certification of President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory. In addition to the almost four-year jail sentence, Richardson was ordered to serve three years below courtroom supervision after his launch and to pay $2,000 in restitution.
Richardson by no means entered the Capitol, the Inquirer reported, however prosecutors stated his assault on a Washington, D.C., police officer merited a prolonged jail time period.
According to the paper, police physique digicam footage confirmed Richardson bludgeoning an officer exterior the Capitol with a steel flagpole. NBC News reported that Richardson additionally joined a mob utilizing an enormous Trump billboard as a battering ram.
Approximately 850 folks have been charged with federal crimes for his or her conduct on Jan. 6. Over 350 of them have pleaded responsible, largely to misdemeanors, and over 230 have been sentenced. Dozens of Capitol riot defendants who pleaded responsible to misdemeanor offenses have been sentenced to phrases of imprisonment starting from seven days to 5 months.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”