Paul Hodgkins pleaded guilty to obstructing congressional proceedings. He was sentenced to 8 months in prison. This is the first admitted and documented political prisoner in the United States in a long long time. Does a man who committed no acts of violence and was inside the capitol building for 15 minutes in a protest against an election he believed to be fraudulent deserve 8 months in prison?
Paul Hodgkins, a 38-year-old Floridian, is now the first Capitol rioter charged with 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 by storming the Senate chamber on January 6. He spent about 15 minutes inside, wearing a Donald Trump shirt and carrying a Trump flag.
The sentence is less than the 1.5-year sentence that the Justice Department asked for. Hodgkins was seeking probation.
CBS 46 Atlanta