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A man in Florida was sentenced to eight months in prison for his role in the Washington Uprising on January 6. This punishment may set a benchmark for future cases.
Paul Hodgkins from Tampa admitted to obstructing the official lawsuit after breaking into the U.S. Senate during the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
In the filming, Hodgkins was wearing Trump’s 2020 T-shirt with a flag on his shoulders and goggles around his neck. Someone saw him and a horned helmet who called himself a “shaman” who called himself a “shaman “And the other mobs on the podium behind him took a group photo.
He was the first mob to be sentenced for a felony related to the attack. Hundreds of Trump supporters rushed into the Capitol after learning that Trump was defeated by Joe Biden due to election fraud.
570 people It has been charged in connection with the attack, in which 5 people including a policeman were killed.
The prosecutor had asked Hodgkins to serve 18 months in prison and stated in a court document that he “like every mob has contributed to the collective threat of democracy”, forcing lawmakers to temporarily abandon Biden’s Proof of winning and scrambling to seek asylum.
Hodgkins’ verdict may affect other defendants because they decide whether to accept the plea agreement or the trial. Hodgkins and others were charged with serious crimes, but were not prosecuted for participating in a larger conspiracy like the others.
An attorney for Hodgkins once asked U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss not to sentence him, saying that the shame of Hodgkins for the rest of his life should be considered punishment.
Patrick N Leduc wrote in a recent document: “Compared with the scarlet letter that Mr. Hodgkins will wear for the rest of his life, any punishment that the court might offer appears Pale and weak,” quoted a novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, in which a woman accused of adultery was forced to wear an A.
The document argued that Hodgkins’ behavior was not significantly different from that of Anna Morgan Lloyd-except for stepping onto the Senate seat. Lloyd, 49, from Indiana, was the first of about 500 people arrested and sentenced. She pleaded guilty to misconduct and was sentenced to three years probation last month.
Hodgkins has not been accused of assaulting anyone or destroying property. The prosecutor stated that he almost immediately assumed responsibility and pleaded guilty to obstruction, so he deserved some lenient treatment and could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.
But they also noticed how he boarded a bus heading to the Trump rally in his hometown of Tampa, carrying rope, goggles and latex gloves in his backpack-which shows that he came to Washington for violence Ready to prepare.
The prosecutor said that when the crowd flocked to the Capitol that day, he walked past a field full of smashed police roadblocks and broken windows, passing by police officers and other injured people.
The government document stated: “Hodgkins has pushed forward time and time again, instead of turning around and retreating.”
Leduc described his client as a law-abiding American. Although he lives in a poorer area of Tampa, he often volunteers at a food bank. He pointed out that Hodgkins was an Eagle Scout.
The lawyer said that his action on January 6 presented “the story of a man who lost his way in just one hour a day…he made a major decision to follow the crowd.”
Leduc’s 33-page pre-sentence document used several pages to describe the civil war, highlighting Abraham Lincoln’s call for reconciliation in the weeks before his assassination.
“The court has a chance to follow Lincoln,” he wrote.
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