In the United States, the first prison sentence for attacking Capitol

On Monday, July 19, a Washington court sentenced a Florida man to eight months in prison for his role in the January 6 assassination of Capitol in the aftermath of an attack that rocked American democracy. Paul Hodgkins, 38, entered the seat of Congress with hundreds of supporters of Donald Trump as elected officials certified Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election, the judiciary said in a statement.

Photos in the file show the bearded, long-haired man in the Senate chamber, with Sky carrying glasses around his neck and a large flag in the name of the former Republican president. He was arrested on Feb. 16 after being convicted, pleaded guilty to obstructing official proceedings, and the federal prosecutor called for an 18-month prison sentence.

According to court documents, Paul Hodgkins entered the Capitol with a backpack containing glasses, ropes and latex gloves. He reached the hemisphere where he had taken his picture.

More than 160 charges

However, the prosecution acknowledged that he had not done so “Did not personally participate in or promote property violence or destruction” And he had “Accepted his responsibility very soon”. He spent less than half an hour at the Legislature in the United States.

Since January 6, more than 535 protesters across the country have been arrested and charged with 165 counts of involvement in the attack on the US Congress. Mr. Before Hodgkins, two more were sentenced to life in prison. A woman pleaded guilty and received a three-year suspended sentence in June, and a man pleaded guilty three months later, but that sentence included pre-trial detention.

Play-off proceedings are common in the United States, where the majority of federal criminal cases are completed without trial. But in files related to infiltration into the Capitol, politically very sensitive, prosecutors are reluctant to offer reduced sentences.