Those on the other side of the support that former President Donald Trump and others on the Right keep trying to lavish on participants in what truthfully was a violent attack on the Capitol in early 2021 now include a former soldier who was convicted within the military’s justice system on a manslaughter charge for shooting and killing a handcuffed civilian overseas.
Now, 40-year-old defendant Edward Richmond Jr. is charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding officers using a dangerous weapon, among other alleged acts at the Capitol. That offense carries up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Details of Richmond’s past in the military, where he was forced out, were publicized by sources including The Associated Press. As recapped by that outlet, Richmond now stands accused of participating in violence in the Capitol’s Lower West Terrace tunnel, where an extensive series of physical attacks on responding police officers were documented.
Notably, court docs associated with Richmond’s new criminal case identify as important in making an identification a “confidential witness” who goes unnamed in this particular file. But in discussions with authorities, the individual identified “Eddie” as a member of an ostensible security team tasked with accompanying whoever the unnamed person was while attending pro-Trump gatherings in Washington, D.C., around the time of Congress’ scheduled proceedings for certifying the results from the 2020 presidential election.
“CW-1 was shown a photo of the security team hired to travel with CW-1, which was posted by CW-1 on his/her social media account. In the photo, CW-1 identified a man wearing a black helmet, goggles, shoulder pads, an orange 2-way radio, and a patch on his chest of the Louisiana state flag, as “EDDIE,”” that filing says. “CW-1” refers to the witness. Investigators also found the figure identified as Richmond on security footage from a hotel in the area in the hours after the Capitol violence started. He was still wearing some of his evident tactical gear.
As Trump talks about potentially pardoning Capitol rioters, is this who he and allies support?
