Headline Roundup • July 19th, 2021
First Person Charged With Felony In Capitol Breach Case Gets Prison Sentence
Summary from the AllSides News Team
On Monday, Florida resident Paul Hodgkins, 38, became the first person charged with a felony in the Jan. 6 Capitol breach. Last month, Hodgkins pled guilty to obstructing congressional proceedings after he waved a Trump flag and took pictures in the Senate chamber for 15 minutes on Jan. 6. Hodgkins apologized to the court, saying he got caught up in the moment and that it "was a foolish decision." While Hodgkins asked the judge for no prison time, the Justice Department requested a 1.5-year prison term. Hodgkins was sentenced to eight months in prison and ordered to pay a $2,000 fine for causing damage to the building. District Judge Randolph Moss said he would allow Hodgkins some leniency since he was not involved in a violent crime, pled guilty early and gave a "sincere" apology to the court.
The story received wide coverage across the political spectrum. Some outlets from across the spectrum remarked that the judge's decision could set a precedent for the rest of the Jan. 6 cases.
Featured Coverage of this Story
Axios
A federal judge on Monday dealt an eight-month prison sentence to Paul Hodgkins for the Florida man’s role in the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack, making him the first among more than 500 people facing criminal charges in the riot to be incarcerated.
Hodgkins, 38, pleaded guilty on June 2 to one felony count of obstruction of an official proceeding, as Congress was in the process of formally certifying Joe Biden’s election last November as U.S. president when supporters of then-President Donald Trump rampaged through the building.
Prosecutors had asked...
The Daily Wire
A Florida man who was charged with a felony after breaching the Senate chamber in the United States Capitol during a riot on Jan. 6 was sentenced Monday to eight months in jail.
Paul Allard Hodgkins, 38, was the first person charged with a felony to be sentenced.
During a court appearance, Hodgkins apologized to the court, saying he was ashamed of his actions and merely got caught up in the moment as a mob swarmed into the Capitol to protest the certification of Joe Biden as the winner of...
CNN Digital
A man who pleaded guilty to breaching the Senate chamber during the US Capitol insurrection was sentenced Monday to eight months in prison in a closely watched case that could influence how hundreds of other rioters charged with the same felony are punished.
Paul Hodgkins, a 38-year-old Floridian, is now the first Capitol rioter convicted of a felony to be sentenced. He pleaded guilty last month to obstructing congressional proceedings -- specifically, the counting of the electoral votes, which he helped delay on January 6. He spent about 15 minutes inside the...
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