Capitol rioter who breached Senate gets 8 months for felony
CHICAGO — A Florida man who breached the U.S. Senate chamber carrying a Trump campaign flag was sentenced Monday to eight months behind bars, the first punishment handed down for a felony charge in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and one that could help determine the severity of other sentences in hundreds of pending cases.
In pronouncing the sentence on Paul Allard Hodgkins, U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss said the 38-year-old had played a role, if not as significant as others, in one of the worst episodes in American history. Thousands of rioters loyal to then-President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol and disrupted the certification of Joe Biden’s election win, in a stunning display of public violence.
“That was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a protest,” Moss said. “It was … an assault on democracy.” He added: “It left a stain that will remain on us … on the country for years to come.”
More than 500 people have been charged so far for their participation in the attack, and many like Hodgkins were accused of serious crimes, but were not indicted, as some others were, for roles in larger conspiracies. They will have to decide whether to plead guilty or go to trial.
Moss interrupted Hodgkins’ attorney, Patrick Leduc, to ask if granting the defense request to spare Hodgkins from prison could encourage others disgruntled by the results of a future election to besiege the Capitol.
“If we allow people to storm the United States Capitol, what are we doing to preserve our democracy?” Moss asked.
But he said Hodgkins deserved a lesser sentence than the 18 months prosecutors had requested, in part because he didn’t assault anyone, didn’t damage government property and wasn’t among the lead attackers.
Hodgkins apologized to the court and said he felt ashamed. Speaking calmly from a prepared text, he described being caught up in the euphoria as he walked down Washington’s most famous avenue, then followed a crowd of hundreds into the Capitol.
“If I had any idea that the protest ... would escalate (the way) it did ... I would never have ventured farther than the sidewalk of Pennsylvania Avenue,” he told the judge. He added: “This was a foolish decision on my part.”
He pleaded guilty last month to obstructing an official proceeding by participating in an attack that forced lawmakers to run and hide. Five people died, including a police officer and rioter shot by police. Two other police officers who faced Jan. 6 rioters died by suicide days later.
In requesting an 18-month prison sentence during the hearing in Washington, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mona Sedky likened the attack to “domestic terrorism.”
Leduc, Hodgkins’ lawyer, said the government’s description of the Jan. 6 events was hyperbole. “I think it is gaslighting the country,” he said. What happened, he added, was “a protest that became a riot.” Moss interrupted Hodgkins again, noting some of the Trump supporters seemed to be out to track down lawmakers, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
“There were people who were storming through the halls of the Capitol saying, ‘Where’s Nancy?”‘ the judge told the attorney. “That is more than a simple riot.”