Record at a Glance
- Category
- Jan 6th
- Age in NPR record
- 71
- Location
- King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
- Charges
- Civil Disorder; Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers Using a Dangerous Weapon; Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon; Engaging in Physical Violence in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon; Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building; Act of Physical Violence in the Capitol Grounds or Buildings
- Case status
- Pleaded guilty; Dismissed in part or full; Sentenced
- Presidential action
- Pardon
Case Summary
Howard Charles Richardson is alleged to have assaulted a law enforcment officer with a flagpole during the U.S. Capitol insurrection, which was captured on police body cameras. Cameras worn by at least four police officers captured Richardson taking a metal flagpole with a blue Trump flag on it and attacking the officers "unprovoked," a federal filing claimed. "Here it comes," Richardson is allegedly heard yelling before striking an officer three times. The FBI said that Richardson "only stopped swinging after the flagpole broke in his hands." Photos and videos of that act were later used to identify Richardson as the assailant. Richardson was also known to local police in his community due to a separate act in which he allegedly assaulted a motorcyclist outside his residence. In an interview with FBI agents after his arrest for that unrelated act, he acknowledged that he was at the Capitol on the day of the insurrection. He allegedly told the FBI that he had been tear gassed as rioters attempted to breach the perimeter of the Capitol and acknowledged that he was the individual in the body camera videos. "I'm not saying this is the best behavior I could have done here," he said. According to letters written by Richardson's family and friends and filed as part of a federal sentencing memorandum, Richardson served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam war.
Case History
Richardson pleaded Guilty to one charge: Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers Using a Dangerous Weapon. The other charges are dismissed. Sentenced on 8/26/2022 to 46 months incarceration; three years of supervised release, $2,000 restitution; $100 special assessment. Richardson received a full pardon on January 20, 2025
Sources
- Primary Documentation
NPR Jan. 6 Defendant DatabaseNPR - Primary Documentation
Underlying court recordCourt record linked by NPR - Supporting Reporting
NPR video evidence pageNPR
Case summary, charges, procedural updates and image are drawn from the NPR Jan. 6 archive snapshot dated 2026-09-25 unless otherwise indicated.