BATON ROUGE, La. - Edward Richmond Jr., an Army veteran from Louisiana, was charged with attacking police officers with a baton during a mob’s Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
But on Jan. 24, he was ordered released from pre-trial custody a day after his arrest here. A federal prosecutor had argued for this pretrial detention because Richmond had been convicted of manslaughter for fatally shooting a handcuffed civilian in Iraq about two decades ago.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lyman Thornton III said authorities found an AR-15 rifle and ammunition when they searched Richmond’s Geismar, La., home this week. Richmond was prohibited from possessing a firearm due to his criminal history, the prosecutor said.
Thornton said Richmond poses a flight risk, is a threat to the community.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Erin Wilder-Doomes ordered Richmond's release from custody after a detention hearing. The judge said Richmond has community ties and "appears to be a loving father."
Defense attorney John McLindon said Richmond hasn’t been “hiding or running” in the three years since the Capitol riot.
Richmond was arrested Jan. 22 in Baton Rouge on charges, including civil disorder and assaulting, resisting or impeding police with a dangerous weapon.
Richmond, 40, was wearing a helmet, shoulder pads, goggles and a Louisiana state flag patch on his chest when he assaulted police in a tunnel outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to an FBI agent’s affidavit.
Richmond was 20 when an Army court-martial panel convicted him of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced him to three years in prison in February 2004. Richmond also received a dishonorable discharge from the Army. (The AP 01/24/24)
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