Florida resident Paul Hodgkins has pleaded guilty to the charge of breaching the Capitol building during the January 6 riot and to disrupting a joint session of Congress convened to confirm the votes count in the presidential election of 2020, the Justice Department said on Wednesday
WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd June, 2021) Florida resident Paul Hodgkins has pleaded guilty to the charge of breaching the Capitol building during the January 6 riot and to disrupting a joint session of Congress convened to confirm the votes count in the presidential election of 2020, the Justice Department said on Wednesday.
"A Florida man pleaded guilty today to crimes related to the breach of the US Capitol on Jan. 6 which disrupted a joint session of the US Congress in the process of ascertaining and counting the electoral votes related to the presidential election," the Justice Department said in a release.
US law enforcement alleges that at around 2:50 p.m. on January 6, Hodgkins illegally entered the US Senate chamber inside the Capitol building, walked among the desks, took a selfie and exited the building at approximately 3:15 p.m., the release said.
Hodgkins has pleaded guilty to one count of obstructing an official proceeding and faces maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or twice the monetary gain or loss of the offense, the Justice Department said.
On January 6, a group of supporters of the former US President Donald Trump entered the US Capitol to protest lawmakers certifying Joe Biden's election victory in several US states Trump claimed were stolen. In the four months since the January 6 events, about 440 individuals have been arrested on charges related to the Capitol breach, including over 125 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement.
