Trump fan who assaulted police with Trump flag, billboard on Jan. 6 gets over 3.5 years in prison
A Donald Trump fan was sentenced to 46 months in prison for assaulting police with a Trump flag when rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
WASHINGTON — A "pissed off" Donald Trump fan was sentenced to 46 months in prison Friday for assaulting law enforcement officers with a Trump flag and joining a mob to use a giant Trump billboard as a battering ram when rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
The government said that Howard Richardson, a 72-year-old from King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, "contributed to the breach of the police line that led directly to the storming of the Capitol doors." Federal prosecutors sought 46 months of incarceration for Richardson, who is the father of a 20-year veteran police officer, according to the government.
“Richardson also wrongly insisted that he carried a ‘Back the Blue’ flag on January 6 and not a Trump flag,” the government said, adding (misspelling “unfazed”): “Apparently unphased by the irony of using a pro-police symbol to attack a police officer, Richardson made this assertion even though the video footage clearly shows his flag is a blue and red ‘Trump’ flag.”
A look back at the Jan. 6 Capitol riot June 9, 202207:36Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly sentenced Richardson to more than 3.5 years in prison, saying he had downplayed his actions in his plea hearing and misled the FBI about his actions, twice coming up with "excuses" for what he did.
"This is a serious offense," Kollar-Kotelly said, adding that the video made clear that Richardson was "very angry" when he swung his flagpole with the Trump flag at an officer.
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