Ex-US soldier who killed Iraqi citizen accused of attacking police on January 6

A former U.S. Army soldier convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the 2004 killing of an Iraqi civilian was charged Monday with assaulting police officers with a baton during the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol, the department announced of Justice known.

The former soldier, Edward Richmond Jr., 40, of Geismar, La., who was arrested Monday in Baton Rouge, faces several federal charges, including civil disorder; entering and remaining in a restricted area with a deadly or dangerous weapon; and attacking, resisting or hindering certain officers, prosecutors said.

A U.S. Army spokesman, Bryce S. Dubee, confirmed that Mr. Richmond was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in 2004, the same year he deployed to Iraq. Mr. Richmond, who served in the military from 2002 to 2008, was sentenced by the military court to a reduction in the rank of soldier, forfeiture of all wages and allowances, three years of confinement and a dishonorable discharge, Mr. Dubee said.

According to The Associated Press, he was released on parole in 2006 with almost a year remaining on his original sentence.

According to The Associated Press, Mr. Richmond killed a cow herder who had been held with the other men in an Iraqi village near Taal Al Jai that the army raided on February 28, 2004. The shepherd, Muhamad Husain Kadir, was handcuffed. when Mr. Richmond shot him in the back of the head from five feet away as the man stumbled, the AP reported.

In his defense, Mr Richmond, then 20, said that although he had not seen Mr Kadir with a weapon, he believed Mr Kadir had lunged to attack another soldier, adding that he had hands of Mr Kadir. was bound according to the telegraph service.

In the Justice Department's announcement on Monday, prosecutors said Mr. Richmond was among a group of about 10 people who traveled from Ohio to Washington, D.C., to attend pro-Trump rallies planned for Jan. 6, when Congress would certify the results. the 2020 presidential election at the Capitol.

Investigators identified Mr. Richmond from several images and footage of the Jan. 6 breach of the Capitol, including closed-circuit television footage and video captured by officers' body-worn cameras, according to an affidavit written by an FBI agent filed with the criminal complaint in the US District Court in Washington.

Mr. Richmond is seen in the images filed in the complaint wearing a black helmet, goggles, shoulder pads and a Louisiana state flag patch attached to a camouflage patterned vest.

Closed-circuit television footage shows him sitting among a group of rioters near the tunnel the capital. Body-worn camera footage from officers shows him “using a baton to strike law enforcement officers multiple times,” prosecutors said.

Mr. Richmond will make his first appearance in the U.S. Middle District Court of Louisiana at 10 a.m. Tuesday, said his attorney, John McLindon. He declined to comment on the case.

To date, federal authorities have charged more than 1,265 people in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, including more than 440 charged with “assaulting or obstructing” police officers, according to the Justice Department.

The department's efforts have resulted in more than 720 convictions to date, with sentences ranging from a few days to more than 20 years in prison.