A former Schofield Barracks soldier sentenced to three years in prison and dishonorably discharged from the Army for killing an unarmed Iraqi cow herder 20 years ago was ordered jailed for assaulting police officers with a metal baton at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Edward L. Richmond Jr., 40, of Geismar, La, was deemed a danger to the community by a U.S. District Judge in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, according to federal court documents.
He is charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon and inflicting bodily injury on certain officers, civil disorder, entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon, disorderly and disruptive
conduct, engaging in physical violence, violent entry and disorderly conduct.
Richmond was arrested Jan. 22 and released. On Tuesday, Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg granted federal prosecutors’ request that he be returned to custody.
“Richmond poses both a danger and a risk of nonappearance, and the court should detain him pending trial,” wrote prosecutors in their motion to revoke his release. “The government is concerned that, under growing pressure, he may snap again.”
Among the reasons cited for revoking Richmond’s release by Boasberg was Richmond’s “prior criminal history” and “history of violence or use of weapons,” according to the order filed Tuesday.
When FBI agents searched his Louisiana home after the Jan. 6 Capitol attacks, they found an AR-15 assault
rifle complete with three fully loaded magazines, approximately 73 rounds of ammunition. Richmond is prohibited from possessing firearms after his conviction for killing the Iraqi citizen.
The weapon was registered to his ex-wife, and federal prosecutors plan to charge him.
Richmond must self-surrender to federal authorities by 5 p.m. Monday.
According to a Sept. 5 federal criminal complaint, on Jan. 12, 2021, an FBI agent reviewing social media videos of the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol identified “an individual with a police baton assaulting police officers in the Lower West Terrace entrance of the Capitol (known as ‘the tunnel’).”
“The individual was wearing a helmet, goggles, shoulder pads, and a Louisiana State Flag patch on his chest. This individual also carried an orange two-way radio on his chest. Based on this video footage, the agent added this individual to an FBI wanted poster,” read the affidavit by an FBI agent.
Footage reviewed by the FBI also allegedly shows Richmond trying to pull a fallen police officer away from an entrance. He is also seen carrying a large wooden plank, throwing broken chairs out windows and whipping a large whiteboard at officers.
On Feb. 9, 2021, a “sedition hunter” identified the man as his former neighbor, Richmond. A woman who traveled with Richmond from Ohio to participate and stayed with him and eight others at the Phoenix Park Hotel told the FBI she knew him as “Eddie.”
His attorney, John McLindon, said in court documents “that approximately 20 years ago, when he was 20 years old, while serving in the United States Army in Iraq, Mr. Richmond was found guilty of manslaughter and given a three year sentence.”
He was originally charged with murder and was facing a life sentence.
“The jury returned a verdict of manslaughter and he received a three year sentence,” wrote McLindon. “As the Pretrial Services Report reflects, he was released on parole and on August 4, 2007, he successfully completed his supervision.”
Since his parole, McLindon said, Richmond’s only contact with law enforcement was an arrest for a domestic incident that was not prosecuted.
Richmond was not living off the grid, as the government
alleged, McLindon noted.
He provided the court tax
returns from 2021 and 2022 while pointing out that
Richmond is a licensed electrician with a 16-year-old son enrolled in school and playing football.
The judge described Richmond’s conduct at the Capitol on Jan. 6 as “pretty troubling to me,” according to The Associated Press.
More than 100 police officers were injured during the riot. More than 1,200 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Capitol attack.
When he lived in Hawaii, Richmond was assigned to Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry
Regiment, at Schofield
Barracks.
The government’s key witness in the Iraq case, Sgt. Jeffrey Waruch, testified that he and Richmond saw Muhamad Husain Kadir about an hour before the shooting while their unit was conducting a raid in Kadir’s village near Taal Al Jal.
Waruch also testified that Kadir didn’t look suspicious, nor did he appear to have a weapon, the Army said.
Waruch testified that he and Richmond were ordered by radio to detain all male members of Kadir’s village. He said when they approached Kadir to flex-cuff him, Kadir resisted. Waruch said once Kadir was handcuffed, he began to lead him away when Kadir stumbled.
Waruch testified that Richmond shot him in the back of the head from 2 meters away.
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The Associated Press
contributed to this report.