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A Tampa man is pleading guilty to criminal charges related to the deadly insurrection on January 6.
Paul Allard Hodgkins will plead guilty to one count of obstruction of an official proceeding, a felony that carries up to 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.
“I have decided that I will accept this plea offer, and I will plead guilty to charge one,” Hodgkins told U.S. District Judge Randolph D. Moss.
As a result of a plea deal, he will face a substantially lower sentence and fine, which Judge Randolph Ross estimated could range between 15 and 21 months in prison, though that could be subject to change.
Hodgkins will also pay $2,000 in restitution, the judge said.
Video footage obtained by New Yorker magazine shows Hodgkins inside the Senate Chamber waving a “Trump 2020” flag, shouting, chanting, praying while wearing a Trump t-shirt and leather armbands.
According to court records, the FBI interviewed Hodgkins on January 26, and he admitted that he was in the Capitol building. Investigators matched a selfie that he took inside of the Capitol with his driver’s license photo. A tip was also sent to authorities about Hodgkin’s presence at the Capitol on January 6.
In April, a self-described member of the Oath Keepers militia group became the first Capitol rioter to plead guilty to the charges against him and enter into a plea agreement with the government. That agreement requires the man to fully cooperate with the government’s investigation.
On Tuesday, prosecutors said they had begun “informal plea negotiations” with several Oath Keepers charged in the government’s conspiracy case and hoped to offer formal deals within the next month or two.
More than 400 people are being charged in the District of Columbia for the deadly insurrection.
Hodgkins will be sentenced next month in Washington D.C.
