The brother of Pat Tillman, an NFL star turned Army Ranger who died in Afghanistan, has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for setting a fire that caused major damage to the Almaden Valley Post Office in San Jose.
Richard Tillman, 45, of San Jose, pleaded guilty in February to malicious destruction of government property by fire on July 20, 2025.
Tillman was also given a three-year period of supervised released and ordered to pay $2,371,682 in restitution to the U.S. Postal Service.
Tillman said he intentionally set the fire to “make a point to the United States government,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Northern California said in a statement. The event was livestreamed on YouTube.
Tillman bought fire logs and lighter fluid, then backed his vehicle into the front door of the post office before spreading lighter fluid through his car and lighting it on fire with a match.
The post office’s lobby, which housed USPS retail and post office boxes, was destroyed and has been closed ever since, according to prosecutors.
Pat Tillman joined the U.S. Army in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He rejected a three-year, $3.6 million contract extension from the Arizona Cardinals.
He was reported killed on April 22, 2004, at the age of 27, by what was later revealed to be friendly fire.
