A man convicted of assaulting a police officer with a flagpole during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot was sentenced to nearly three years in prison on Friday, according to court documents.
Howard Richardson of Pennsylvania crossed metal barriers on Capitol grounds while carrying a flagpole, according to court documents. At about 1:38 p.m., Richardson raised the pole and “forcefully swung it downward” on one of the Metropolitan Police Department officers standing behind a metal barricade, hitting the officer two more times before the pole broke, according to the Department of Justice.
Shortly after hitting the officer, Richardson joined several other people in pushing a large metal sign into a line of police officers, the DOJ stated in its news release.
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In a court appearance on Friday, Richardson apologized for his actions and stated that he thought the riot was supposed to be a “celebration” to mark Republicans halting President Joe Biden’s certification of winning the 2020 election, according to Axios.
Richardson, 72, was arrested in Philadelphia on Nov. 30, 2021, and pleaded guilty on April 27 of this year to assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers. In addition to his prison sentence, he will also have to pay $2,000 in restitution and be placed on three years of supervised release once he leaves prison, according to the news release.
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Over 860 people have been arrested for crimes related to the Capitol riot, with more than 260 of them charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, according to the DOJ.
