A Louisiana veteran who served in Iraq two decades ago was sentenced on Monday to more than four years in prison for his role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Edward Richmond Jr. attacked police officers with a metal baton during one of the most violent episodes of the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot — a clash between rioters and outnumbered officers inside a tunnel entrance. Richmond, 41, of Geismar, Louisiana, said he immediately regretted his actions that day, the Associated Press reports. “It was wrong. It was foolish. It was not thought-out. It was spur of the moment,” Richmond said before U.S. District Judge John Bates, who sentenced him to four years and three months behind bars.
More than 1,500 people have been charged with federal crimes stemming from the Capitol riot. More than 650 of them have been sentenced to terms of imprisonment ranging from a few days to 22 years. Several Jan. 6 riot defendants have asked judges to pause their cases until after President-elect Donald Trump takes office, citing his campaign vow to pardon supporters who stormed the Capitol after his “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House on Jan. 6. Judges have largely rejected those requests and forged ahead with plea hearings and sentencings as scheduled. Richmond was wearing a helmet, goggles and other military-style tactical gear when he attended then-President Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally near the White House on Jan. 6. After marching to the Capitol, he joined other rioters in a “heave ho” push against police officers guarding a tunnel entrance.
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