Veteran Who Was Court Martialed Gets 4 Years in Prison for Jan. 6 Attack

A former U.S. Army soldier who was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the killing of an Iraqi civilian in 2004 was sentenced on Monday to more than four years in prison for assaulting police officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

The former soldier, Edward Richmond Jr., 41, of Geismar, La., was sentenced to 51 months for attacking officers who were trying to defend the Capitol during the 2020 vote certification process, the Justice Department said. Mr. Richmond will be on supervised release for three years after his prison term ends.

Mr. Richmond was arrested in January on several federal charges, including civil disorder; entering and remaining in a restricted area with a deadly or dangerous weapon; and assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers, prosecutors said at the time. He pleaded guilty to the assault charge in August. His lawyer, John S. McLindon, said his sentence includes nine months that he had already served.

“Edward was very remorseful from the very first day I met him,” Mr. McLindon said in an interview after the sentencing. “He was very sorry about what he did.”

Mr. McLindon said the Justice Department had recommended a sentence of 63 months.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to to a message requesting comment on Monday.

In the Justice Department’s sentencing memo, prosecutors said Mr. Richmond had attacked the officers with a metal baton while yelling, “We’ll break you,” using an expletive.