Second Capitol rioter reaches plea deal with reported guideline range of 15 to 21 months in prison

As reported in this Politico piece, a "38-year-old man from Tampa, Fla., on Wednesday became only the second defendant charged in relation to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot to plead guilty to obstructing Congress’ certification of the 2020 election results — an agreement that could shed light on the government’s strategy for prosecuting the hundreds of other alleged perpetrators of the insurrection." Here is more:

In a virtual plea hearing before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, prosecutors told Judge Randolph Moss they would drop the four misdemeanor charges against Paul Allard Hodgkins in exchange for the defendant’s guilty plea on the obstruction charge, his only felony count, which carries a statutory maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison.

However, defendants are typically sentenced in accordance with federal sentencing guidelines, and in most cases — especially for defendants with little or no criminal record — those standards call for sentences far shorter than the maximum. Hodgkins, who has no prior criminal convictions, is tentatively scheduled to be sentenced on July 19.

On Wednesday, attorneys for both the defense and the prosecution said the guidelines were likely to call for a 15- to 21-month sentence for Hodgkins. Moss would ultimately be free to impose a shorter or longer sentence, and Hodgkins’ attorney said he would likely argue for less time behind bars for his client.

The guidelines also call for a fine of between $7,500 and $75,000 for the obstruction charge — in addition to the $2,000 in restitution Moss said had been calculated as Hodgkins’ share of the roughly $1.5 million worth of damage done to the Capitol during the riot.

Although more than 450 people have been charged in relation to the storming of the Capitol, the only other defendant to accept a plea deal was Jon Schaffer, a 52-year-old man from Columbus, Ind., who pleaded guilty last month to two counts: obstruction of Congress and entering a Secret Service-restricted area with a deadly or dangerous weapon....

It is not clear, however, what information Hodgkins could offer prosecutors as part of his plea deal, and there was no discussion at the hearing about a cooperation aspect to his agreement. But taken together, Schaffer and Hodgkins’ pleas seemingly indicate that prosecutors will likely insist on a felony obstruction plea as the minimum plea deal for many defendants.

This official DOJ press release, headed "Man Pleads Guilty to Obstruction of an Official Proceeding for Breaching U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6," provides some more details about the defendant's offense conduct:

According to court documents, Paul Hodgkins, 38, of Tampa, Florida, entered the U.S. Capitol building at approximately 2:50 p.m. on Jan. 6. Around 3 p.m., Hodgkins entered the Senate chamber, walked among the desks, and then removed eye goggles. He took a “selfie-style” photograph with his cell phone and walked down the Senate well where, a few feet away, several individuals were shouting, praying and cheering using a bullhorn. Hodgkins walked toward the individuals and remained standing with them while they continued commanding the attention of others. At approximately 3:15 p.m., Hodgkins exited the Senate chamber and the U.S. Capitol Building.

Prior related posts:

• "Many Capitol rioters unlikely to serve jail time" because some facing only misdemeanor convictions
• Noting the importance of charging policies and practices (and consistency?) as federal rioting charges get resolved from coast-to-coast
• Harsh penal treatment of some Capitol rioters being criticized by notable progressive 
• Another effective (but still incomplete) look at possible sentencing outcomes for those prosecuted for Capitol riot
• Covering some interesting developments in some Capitol riot prosecutions 
• Noticing a lack of pleas, so far, in Capitol riot prosecutions 
• First public plea deal struck by Capitol rioter, who agrees to cooperate and to reported guideline range of 41 to 51 months in prison