A Florida man has become the first person sentenced for a felony in connection to the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrection, which arrives six months after he breached the U.S. Senate chamber with a Trump flag in hand. He will spend eight months behind bars.
Paul Allard Hodgkins was sentenced on Monday, according to the Associated Press, after he entered the U.S. Capitol and “contributed to the collective threat to democracy,” prosecutors say. Prosecutors also requested he serve 18 months.
The 38-year-old could be spotted in the chamber taking selfies and wearing a Trump 2020 shirt in videos. His sentencing may set a precedent for hundreds of other cases, the AP shares.
He pleaded guilty last month to one count of obstructing an official proceeding, which has a max sentence of 20 years, as prosecutors dropped lighter charges like entering a restricted building and disorderly conduct.
Hodgkins’ lawyer, Patrick N. Leduc, argued that his client should have a lesser sentence than what prosecutors wanted, as he factored in the shame that came with participating in the riots. He claimed that his story is “the story of a man who for just one hour on one day lost his bearings … who made a fateful decision to follow the crowd.”
Hodgkins spoke calmly, according to the AP, as he apologized for his actions and claimed he didn’t anticipate the insurrection to be what it became. He claimed he got caught up in the moment alongside hundreds of others, despite passing by chaos on his way to the Capitol building.
“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,” Hodgkins told the judge, later adding that it “was a foolish decision on my part.”
