Montanan sentenced for Jan. 6 riot role

HELENA, Mont. — A Montana man who was among the first people to illegally enter the U.S. Capitol while Congress was certifying President Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 election has been sentenced to 38 months in federal prison.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly in Washington sentenced Joshua Hughes of East Helena on Tuesday for his actions during the approximately 38 minutes he was in the Capitol during the insurrection carried out by supporters of then-President Donald Trump.

Hughes, 39, was also ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution.

Kelly called the events of Jan. 6, 2021, a national disgrace, said Hughes’ attorney, Palmer Hoovestal.

“Without the peaceful transfer of power in a democratic form of government, you have nothing,” Hoovestal wrote. “He therefore wanted to send a message of general deterrence to the people that if you interfere with the peaceful transfer of power to newly elected leadership, then you do so at your peril.”

Hughes and his brother, Jerod Hughes, 37, pleaded guilty in August to obstruction of an official proceeding. Jerod Hughes is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 6, 2023, the two-year anniversary of the insurrection.