WASHINGTON, D.C. – A Tampa man who was accused of breaching the U.S. Senate chamber carrying a Trump campaign flag was sentenced to eight months in prison on Monday -- the first Jan. 6 arrestee sentenced for a felony.
Paul Hodgkins, 38, pleaded guilty last month to one count of obstructing an official proceeding in one of the first plea agreements made with federal prosecutors.
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Video footage shows Hodgkins, 38, inside the Senate, wearing a Trump 2020 T-shirt, a flag flung over his shoulder and eye goggles around his neck. He took a selfie with a self-described shaman in a horned helmet and other rioters on the dais behind him.
During Monday’s court hearing, Hodgkins spoke to the judge on his own behalf, calling his actions on Jan. 6 a “foolish decision.”
He said since his arrest – the first in his life – he has given up drinking alcohol, donated blood and started volunteering at a local animal shelter.
He said he also started behavioral health therapy.
“What happened on Jan. 6 has weighed heavily on my conscience,” Hodgkins said.
Prosecutors wanted Hodgkins to serve 18 months, saying what happened on Jan. 6 was a “grave danger to our democracy.”
They claimed he left Tampa in January prepared for a conflict with rubber gloves, rope and goggles in his backpack.
They also gave him credit for being among the first to offer a guilty plea.
His attorney, however, campaigned to the judge for more than 45 minutes, making a case for a shorter sentence.
In the end, Judge Randolph Moss sentenced him to eight months in prison, 24 months supervised release and $2,000 in restitution.
Hodgkins is one of 55 Floridians arrested and charged in connection with the riot in Washington, D.C.
