Paul Hodgkins, 38, is now the first insurrectionist convicted of a felony to be sentenced.
After pleading guilty last month to obstructing congressional proceedings on January 6 at the U.S. Capitol building, the Florida man was sentenced to 8 months in prison.
That falls well below the recommended sentencing guidelines of one to two years. Prosecutors had asked for 1.5 years.
But District Judge Randolph Moss chose to ignore that recommendation. Moss noted that, while Hodgkins contributed to a grave offense against democracy, he deserved some leniency because he pleaded guilty “exceptionally early,” wasn’t involved in violence and issued a “sincere” apology.
According to CNN, almost 550 rioters have been charged, and the Department of Justice says at least 230 of them have been charged with the same obstruction-of-Congress crime to which Hodgkins pleaded guilty.
!! ALERT: Judge has just sentenced Jan 6 defendant Paul Hodgkins to 8 months in prison
LESS than the 18 months prosecutors were seeking…
Judge cites lack of criminal record, lack of any leadership of mob on Jan 6, says Hodgkins statement to court as "sincere" pic.twitter.com/7Adgh3NoZM
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) July 19, 2021
Interesting to note the guideline was 15 – 21 months for Hodgkins
— Alex Rhoades (@Rhoades31) July 19, 2021
Defendant Hodgkins, “I came to DC to participate in an event for a president I love.”
— Glenn Kirschner (@glennkirschner2) July 19, 2021