A former U.S. Army service member, who previously faced court-martial for killing an unarmed civilian in Iraq, has been sentenced to over four years in prison for his involvement in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Edward Richmond Jr., a 41-year-old from Geismar, Louisiana, admitted to having an immediate sense of regret regarding his actions that day, where he violently confronted law enforcement officers using a metal baton.
“It was inappropriate. It was reckless. It was not planned. It was impulsive,” Richmond expressed before U.S. District Judge John Bates announced his sentence of four years and three months. The presiding judge noted that Richmond appeared to genuinely recognize the severity of his involvement in one of the most chaotic moments of the Capitol insurrection, particularly in a confrontation that took place between rioters and heavily outnumbered officers inside a tunnel.
“You admit your behavior was egregious, and that’s vital,” Bates remarked during the proceedings. More than 1,500 individuals have faced federal charges as a result of the Capitol riot, with over 650 already having received prison sentences that vary widely, ranging from just a few days to as long as 22 years.
Several defendants involved in the January 6 events have requested delays in their proceedings until after the presidential inauguration, motivated by statements from President-elect Donald Trump, who suggested he might pardon those who participated in the Capitol breach following his “Stop the Steal” rally. However, judges have predominantly dismissed these pleas and continued with the scheduled hearings.
In contrast to others, Richmond did not seek a postponement of his sentencing. His attorney, John McLindon, expressed that delaying the inevitable seemed fruitless. Prosecutors had initially suggested a more extended sentence of five years and three months, but Richmond will be credited for about nine months that he has already spent in custody since his arrest.
On the day of the insurrection, Richmond was outfitted in military-style tactical gear, including a helmet and goggles, as he participated in Trump’s rally. Once at the Capitol, he joined other rioters in forcibly pushing against officers defending a tunnel entrance. He was seen brandishing a police shield among the crowd, returning to the front line to swing his retractable baton against the law enforcement personnel.
Before he exited the scene, Richmond handed off a wooden board for use as a makeshift weapon against the officers and removed office furniture through a shattered window. A prosecutor remarked that he lifted the object high above his head several times, inciting cheers from fellow rioters and intensifying their violent assault on law enforcement. Richmond was arrested in January and entered a guilty plea for an assault accusation in August.
At the age of 20, Richmond had previously been convicted of voluntary manslaughter by an Army court-martial panel for the 2004 shooting of an unarmed Iraqi civilian named Muhamad Husain Kadir near Taal Al Jai, where he was sentenced to three years in military confinement. He was incarcerated at Fort Sill in Oklahoma and received a dishonorable discharge from the Army. During the recent sentencing, Richmond recalled being instructed by a superior officer to shoot if the civilian moved, expressing regret for the tragic mistake, “It was an error made by a young soldier.”