Pennsylvania Man Pleads Guilty to Assaulting Law Enforcement Officer During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach

            WASHINGTON – A Pennsylvania man pleaded responsible in the present day to a felony cost for assaulting regulation enforcement officers through the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, which disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress that was within the technique of ascertaining and counting the electoral votes associated to the presidential election.

            Howard C. Richardson, 71, of King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, pleaded responsible within the District of Columbia to assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers. In response to courtroom paperwork, on Jan. 6, Richardson made his approach to the restricted space of the U.S. Capitol grounds, passing by steel obstacles and law enforcement officials making an attempt to maintain the gang away. He was carrying a flagpole that he initially waved whereas he was among the many crowd. At about 1:38 p.m., Richardson was standing a number of toes away from the police line with the flagpole. He raised it and forcefully swung it downward to strike an officer with the Metropolitan Police Division who was standing behind a steel barricade. Richardson then struck the officer two extra occasions, utilizing sufficient power to interrupt the flagpole.

            Richardson was arrested on Nov. 30, 2021, in Philadelphia. He’s to be sentenced on Aug. 26, 2022. He faces a statutory most of eight years in jail and a nice of as much as $250,000. A federal district courtroom choose will decide any sentence after contemplating the U.S. Sentencing Tips and different statutory elements.

            The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace for the District of Columbia and the Division of Justice Nationwide Safety Division’s Counterterrorism Part. Invaluable help was offered by the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace for the Jap District of Pennsylvania.

            The case was investigated by the FBI’s Philadelphia Area Workplace. Invaluable help was offered by the FBI’s Washington Area Workplace, which recognized Richardson as #362 in its in search of data pictures, the Metropolitan Police Division, the Higher Merion Township, Pennsylvania, Police Division, and the U.S. Capitol Police.

            Within the 15 months since Jan. 6, 2021, almost 800 people have been arrested in almost all 50 states for crimes associated to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, together with over 250 people charged with assaulting or impeding regulation enforcement. The investigation stays ongoing.

            Anybody with ideas can name 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or go to ideas.fbi.gov.