'That was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a protest,' said Judge Randolph Moss. 'It was...an assault on democracy.'
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mona Sedky said that, while Hodgkins didn't engage in violence himself, he walked among many who did—in what she called"the ransacking of the People's House." And as he walked by smashed police barriers, he could see the smoke of tear gas and the chaos ahead of him.She added Hodgkins was in the midst of a mob that forced lawmakers to seek shelter and some congressional staffers to hide in fear, locked in offices as hundreds swept through the building.
But they also noted how he boarded a bus in his hometown of Tampa, Florida, bound for a Jan. 6 Trump rally carrying rope, protective goggles and latex gloves in a backpack—saying that demonstrated he came to Washington prepared for violence. His lawyer pleaded with the judge to spare his 38-year-old client time in prison, saying the shame that will attach to Hodgkins for the rest of his life should be factored in as punishment.
Hodgkins' lawyer, Patrick N. Leduc, described his client as an otherwise law-abiding American who, despite living in a poorer part of Tampa, regularly volunteered at a food bank. He noted that Hodgkins is an Eagle Scout.
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