Pat Tillman’s brother sentenced for post office firebombing in San Jose

The brother of late war hero and NFL star Pat Tillman was sentenced to five years behind bars after admitting to firebombing a San Jose post office in a twisted effort to send a message to the government.

Richard Tillman, 45, was hit with the sentence Monday after using his car to intentionally set fire to the San Jose post office on Crown Boulevard on July 20, 2025, in order “make a point to the United States government,” federal officials said.

Authorities said Richard Tillman drove his car to the post office after purchasing firelogs and lighter fluid. He then crashed his vehicle through the front doors of the building before spreading lighter fluid throughout the car, lighting it on fire and fleeing the scene, officials said.

The lobby of the post office quickly went up in flames, completely destroying the space. The lobby has remained closed ever since. 

Judge Edward J. Davila also sentenced Richard Tillman to an additional three-year period of supervised release, and ordered him to pay restitution of more than $2 million to the US Postal Service, according to NBC Bay Area. 

He was immediately remanded into custody.

In February, Richard Tillman pleaded guilty to one count of malicious destruction of government property by fire.

He was arrested after the bombing and spent more than six months in custody before police finally charged him. Tillman’s family said he struggled with “severe mental issues.”

His since-deleted YouTube page appeared to outline what he described as a mission to bring down the government, ABC7 reported. 

In a July 15, 2025 video, he declared that he was going to “take down the whole system” — including the US and what he referred to as the world government.

After the crash, the Tillman family put out a statement addressing his actions, saying they were “relieved that no one was physically harmed.”

“To be clear, it’s no secret that Richard has been battling severe mental health issues for many years. He has been livestreaming what I’ll call his altered self on social media for anyone to witness,” his brother Kevin Tillman wrote in a statement. “Unfortunately, securing the proper care and support for him has proven incredibly difficult — or rather, impossible. As a result, none of this is as shocking as it should be.”

Richard Tillman gained national attention when he spoke at his brother’s funeral in 2004, pushing back at the religious themes of the service.

“He’s not with God. He’s f–king dead. He’s not religious,” Richard Tillman said at the time. “So thanks for your thoughts, but he’s f–king dead.”

Pat Tillman died in a friendly-fire incident in April 2004 at the age of 27 while serving as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan.

The NFL player had left his career as a safety with the Arizona Cardinals to join the military.

Pat Tillman served multiple tours of duty, including in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was awarded ESPN’s Arthur Ashe Courage Award in 2003 and was posthumously awarded the Army’s Silver Star, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal and Army Achievement Medal.

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