Protester Sentenced to 8 Months for Entering Capitol, 100s of BLM Cases Dropped
The sentencing is the longest punishment so far
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A non-violent protester, who entered the Capitol on January 6, has been sentenced to eight months in prison for obstructing an official proceeding.
The sentencing comes as hundreds of violent Black Lives Matter rioters had their cases dropped.
38-year-old Paul Allard Hodgkins from Tampa, Florida, pleaded guilty to obstructing an official proceeding after being identified in surveillance footage and photos carrying a Trump 2020 flag in the Senate chamber.
Though the count carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, Hodgkins did not engage in property damage or violence but still received eight months.
The sentencing is the longest punishment so far.
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U.S. District Court Judge Randolph Moss told Hodgkins:
“Although you were only one member of a larger mob, you actively participated in a larger event that threatened the Capitol and democracy itself.”
“The damage that was caused that way was way beyond a several-hour delay of the vote certification,” Moss added.
“It is a damage that will persist in this country for several decades.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mona Sedky argued the prison time “will send a loud and clear message to other would-be rioters that if and when they’re caught, they will face a serious sentence. So there won’t be the next time.”
Last year, hundreds of people were arrested in connection with BLM riots but have since had their charges dropped.
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In Manhattan, there were 485 arrests, but 222 cases were dropped while 73 got lesser accounts.
40 cases were sent to family court, while 128 cases remained open.
118 arrests were made in the Bronx, but 73 of those were dropped, while 18 cases remained open.
Only 19 convictions were made on counts like trespassing, which carried no jail time.
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There have only been more than 300 arrests on federal crimes since George Floyd's death; these include violent crimes including arson, burning police cars, throwing Molotov cocktails, and injuring law enforcement, AP reported.
A third of those cases came from Portland, which included setting fires, setting off explosives at the federal courthouse, and assaulting a deputy U.S. marshal with a baseball bat.
Four BLM rioters received jail time for setting fire to the Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct headquarters which caused $12 million in damages.
There has been an estimated $1 billion in riot damage after Floyd’s death, which is the most expensive in history, Axios reported.
For January 6 Capitol riot, two others have received sentences.
49-year-old Anna Morgan-Lloyd of Bloomington, Indiana, was sentenced to 36 months of probation to one charge of demonstrating in a Capitol building;
For the same charge, Michael Curzio of Summerfield, Florida, was sentenced to six months in prison.
