Ex-Army soldier charged in Capitol riot was convicted of manslaughter for killing Iraqi man in 2004
This image from police body-worn camera video, contained and annotated in the Justice Department’s statement of facts, supporting the arrest warrant for Edward Richmond Jr., at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. Richmond, a former U.S. Army soldier who was convicted of manslaughter for fatally shooting a handcuffed cowherd in Iraq, has been arrested on charges that he attacked police officers with a baton during the U.S. Capitol riot. (Department of Justice via AP)
A former U.S. Army soldier who was convicted of manslaughter for fatally shooting a handcuffed civilian in Iraq was arrested Monday on charges that he attacked police officers with a baton during the U.S. Capitol riot three years ago.
Edward Richmond Jr., 40, of Geismar, Louisiana, 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 arrested in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and is scheduled to make his initial court appearance Tuesday on charges including civil disorder and assaulting, resisting or impeding police with a dangerous weapon.
Richmond’s Louisiana-based attorney, John McLindon, said he hadn’t seen the charging documents and therefore couldn’t immediately comment on the case.
Richmond was 20 when an Army court-martial panel convicted him of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced him to three years in prison for killing the handcuffed Iraqi civilian near Taal Al Jai in February 2004. Richmond also received a dishonorable discharge from the Army.
Richmond initially was charged with unpremeditated murder, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. But the panel of five officers and five enlisted soldiers reduced the charge to voluntary manslaughter.
The Army said Richmond shot Muhamad Husain Kadir, a cow herder, in the back of the head from about six feet away after the man stumbled. Richmond testified that he didn’t know Kadir was handcuffed and believed the Iraqi man was going to harm a fellow soldier.
During the Jan. 6 riot, body camera footage captured Richmond repeatedly assaulting police officers with a black baton in a tunnel on the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace, the FBI said. Police struggled for hours to stop the mob of Donald Trump supporters from entering the Capitol through the same tunnel entrance.
A witness helped the FBI identify Richmond as somebody who had traveled to Washington, D.C., with several other people to serve as a “security team” for the witness for rallies planned for Jan. 6, according to the agent’s affidavit.
More than 1,200 people have been charged with Capitol riot-related crimes. About 900 have pleaded guilty or been convicted after trials. Over 750 have been sentenced, with nearly 500 receiving a term of imprisonment, according to data compiled by The Associated Press.