PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The 71-year-old King of Prussia man who is charged with breaking a Trump-adorned flagpole over a police officer outside the U.S. Capitol in January has been denied bail.
Howard Richardson is charged with swinging a metal flagpole at police after the outer barrier around the Capitol building had been breached.
Federal Magistrate Timothy Rice called it "the ultimate act of violence" — especially after Richardson tried to claim he was a victim when he was really "disrupting a session of the United States Congress."
Federal prosecutor Josh Davison told the judge that Richardson has a history of violence and consistently blames others for his actions.
In 2018, Davison said Richardson’s permit to carry a concealed weapon was revoked after he flashed and pulled a gun during an argument over who was first to a gas pump in Philadelphia.
Richardson is also charged with aggravated assault for an incident in September, which Davison said is caught on "horrifying video." The footage shows Richardson pulling a man off of a moving motorcycle because he thought he was going too fast down his Montgomery County street.
Richardson's lawyer, Tom Egan, argued Richardson is a 71-year-old who has never been convicted of a crime in his life. He asked that Richardson be released on house arrest pending his case moving to Washington, D.C.
Davison said that was the initial plan, but in a meeting with a pretrial officer, Davison said Richardson denied having any open criminal cases, gave conflicting statements about his passport and wouldn’t answer if he had any firearms.
Egan said his client has been cooperating and simply misunderstood the questions.
The federal judge was astounded, as he put it, that anyone would consider releasing him under house arrest. The judge then ordered Richardson held without bail.
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