Florida man Paul Allard Hodgkins secured his spot in the history books Monday, becoming the first person to be sentenced for a felony stemming from his participation in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. Hodgkins, 38, will spent the next eight months in federal prison, after pleading guilty in June to a single felony count of obstructing an official proceeding.
Prior to Monday's sentence, Hodgkins had faced years in prison — the obstruction charge to which he pleaded comes with a maximum of 20 years behind bars — with prosecutors pushing Judge Randolph Moss to impose a sentence in the range of 15 to 21 months. Conversely, defense attorney Patrick Leduc had requested his client spend zero time incarcerated, claiming Hodgkins was a "law-abiding, hardworking, honest, caring, kind, thoughtful, generous, and the kind of person you would want for a neighbor" who simply "lost his bearings and his way" on Jan. 6.
