One of the supporters of former President Donald Trump, who stormed Capitol Hill on January 6, was sentenced to eight months in prison. This is the first criminal sentence relating to the incidents that shook the United States during the post-election handover of power. Paul Alan Hodgkins was given a relatively light sentence after pleading guilty in the federal court that tried him and asking forgiveness for his role in trying to subvert Congress’s proclamation of Joe Biden’s victory.
“If I had any idea that the protest would degenerate I would never have crossed the curb. It was a crazy decision on my part, ”Hodgkins said in court. Judge Randolph Moss said he took Hodgkins’ remorse and admission of guilt into account in deciding the sentence, while stressing that the offense committed was serious. “It was an assault on the Capitol and an assault on democracy,” Judge Moss said. Hodgkins, 38, a native of Tampa, Florida, had been filmed in some images carrying a flag praising Trump, while together with other rioters he broke into the Senate classroom, after overcoming the resistance of the police. The prosecution asked for an 18-month sentence for him.