Press Conference Following Sentencing of Jacksonville Man Who Attempted to Assassinate U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan
Aaron M. Richardson was sentenced to 343 years in federal prison for attempting to assassinate United States District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan and related offenses. A federal jury found him guilty on March 17, 2016.
Judge Corrigan previously convicted and sentenced Richardson for attempting to make an incendiary device in a 2008 case. Following incarceration for that crime, Richardson began serving a term of supervised release. Subsequently, he was arrested for multiple new offenses and faced state prosecutions in Clay, Duval, and Volusia counties, as well as supervised release proceedings in federal court.
Richardson devised a plan, which he named “Mission Freedom,” that involved preparing a false order purportedly signed by Judge Corrigan, dismissing all of his pending charges, as well as other benefits. Richardson planned the murder so that Judge Corrigan could not refute the sham order. On June 21, 2013, Richardson stole a rifle from a local Sports Authority store. On the night of June 22, 2013, Richardson went to Judge Corrigan’s residence and, at 12:30 a.m., he fired a single shot at the judge using the stolen rifle. The shot missed the judge by less than two inches and instead hit a window frame. Richardson was apprehended on June 25, 2013, by a U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force.