Tampa Man 1st To Be Sentenced Following Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol Siege

TAMPA, FL — A Tampa man who breached the U.S. Senate chamber during the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol breach is the first rioter to be sentenced. On Monday, Paul Allard Hodgkins, 38, was sentenced to eight months in prison to be followed by 24 months of supervised release.

In court documents, prosecutors said Hodgkins, “like each rioter, contributed to the collective threat to democracy” by forcing lawmakers to temporarily abandon their certification of Joe Biden’s election victory to escape the mobs breaching the Capitol building.

The FBI released a video showing Hodgkins wearing a Trump 2020 T-shirt with an American flag over his shoulder and eye goggles around his neck. He took a selfie with other rioters on the dais in the Senate chamber.

His sentencing in Washington, D.C., is expected to set the standard for penalties for the 535 other rioters who have been arrested from 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Hodgkins pleaded guilty June 2 to one count of obstructing an official proceeding. His attorney, Patrick Leduc of Tampa, asked U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss not to impose a prison sentence, saying the shame Hodgkins will face the remainder of his life is punishment enough.

“Whatever punishment this court may provide will pale in comparison to the scarlet letter Mr. Hodgkins will wear for the rest of his life,” Leduc wrote.

Leduc said Hodgkins had been a law-abiding America up to that point. He was an Eagle Scout and volunteered regularly at a food bank.

He said Hodgkins' case "is the story of a man who for just one hour on one day lost his bearings, who made a fateful decision to follow the crowd,” Leduc said. “He got swept up like everybody else, got caught in the moment and followed the crowd."

Hodgkins is not charged with assault or property damage. Prosecutors agreed he deserves some leniency for taking responsibility almost immediately and pleading guilty to the obstruction charge.

But they said he did board a bus to Washington, D.C., carrying rope, protective goggles and latex gloves in a backpack, prepared for violence at the rally.

He then joined other rioters who surged into the Senate chambers after smashing through police barriers and breaking windows.

“Time and time again, rather than turn around and retreat, Hodgkins pressed forward,” prosecutors said.

Federal guidelines call for a sentence of 15 to 21 months in prison. Federal prosecutors recommended that Hodgkins serve 18 months behind bars.

Judge Randolph D. Moss of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia gave him a sentence that's seven months less than the minimum federal guidelines.

Florida leads the nation in having the most people charged in the Capitols riots.

Three people from Lakeland and a fourth from Plant City joined the latest list of Floridians accused of taking part in the siege Jan. 6, bringing the total to 55 Floridians.

Olivia Michele Pollock, 30; Joshua Christopher Doolin, 22; and Joseph Daniel Hutchinson III, 25, all of Lakeland; as well as Michael Steven Perkins, 37, of Plant City, are charged with federal offenses that include assault on law enforcement, violent entry and disorderly conduct and theft of government property, among other charges.

Olivia Pollock, Doolin and Perkins were arrested June 29 and made their initial court appearance in the Middle District of Florida on June 30. Hutchison made his initial court appearance in the Middle District of Georgia the same day.

Jonathan Daniel Pollock, 21, of Lakeland, remains at large.

According to court documents, at 1:56 p.m. Jan. 6, Jonathan Pollock charged toward a line of police officers while brandishing flagpoles. As depicted in body-worn camera footage, Jonathan Pollock screamed, “Let’s go!” while trying to push through a metal barricade.

The FBI said Hutchinson grabbed the fence and pulled it back to provide rioters with unobstructed access to the line of police officers.

Jonathan Pollock then assaulted three police officers, pulling one down a set of steps, kneeing and punching another in the face, and punching and pushing a third by the neck, according to the FBI.

Shortly after 2 p.m., the FBI said Hutchinson charged the line of police officers and began throwing punches. Meanwhile, Jonathan Pollock seized a riot shield from an officer and engaged in a tug-of-war-style conflict before pulling the officer down the steps, breaking the officer’s grasp and taking the shield.

Jonathan Pollock then held the riot shield in front of him, charged up the steps and slammed into the police line. Perkins then picked up a flagpole and thrust it into the chest of a police officer as Perkins raised the flagpole over his head and appeared to strike an officer in the back of his head.

At 2:11 p.m., Jonathan Pollock grappled with another officer and swung his arm to strike the officer while another rioter swung at the officer with a flagpole.

At the same time, Hutchinson kicked the line of police officers, and Jonathan Pollock seized a riot shield which he thrust into an officer’s throat and face before thrusting the shield toward another officer.

Then, at 2:12 p.m., as police officers began moving down the steps of the Capitol, Hutchinson, followed by Olivia Pollock carrying a flagpole with an American flag, stepped forward and punched an officer who stumbled. Hutchinson grabbed the jacket sleeve of another officer before throwing him out of his way. Olivia Pollock attempted to strip an officer of his baton. After being knocked back, Olivia Pollock raised her hands in a fighting posture, elbowed the officer in the chest and again tried to take the baton from the officer.

By 2:55 p.m., Jonathan and Olivia Pollock, Doolin and Perkins were standing on the ledge of the upper west terrace. Doolin had zip-tie handcuffs tucked in his belt and a riot-control chemical canister slung over his shoulder.

Jonathan Pollock again yelled, “Let’s go,” then climbed to the front of the bleachers, grabbed an officer by the shoulders and attempted to pull him over the railings.

By about 4:20 p.m., Jonathan Pollock and Doolin were positioned close to the entrance to the passageway that connects the lower west terrace to the interior of the Capitol building.

Another rioter passed a riot shield back to Jonathan Pollock, and he positioned himself at the entrance to the tunnel. For several minutes starting at 4:32 p. m., Jonathan Pollock slammed and pushed a riot shield into the line of officers, pinning the officers’ shields and preventing them from defending themselves against the attack.

Jonathan Pollock remained positioned with the riot shield at the entrance of the tunnel, blocking officers from advancing out of the tunnel, until at least 4:46 p.m.

Olivia Pollock and Doolin were charged with theft of government property, disorderly conduct and entering a restricted building. Both were released on 25,000 bonds and ordered to surrender their passports and any guns they owned.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Suggs asked that Perkins remain in jail due to the violent acts he is accused of committing.

On June 25, the FBI arrested a 33-year-old Seffner man that prosecutors described as taking a “de facto leadership role” in the riots.

Mitchell Todd Gardner II made his first appearance in Tampa federal court June 28 on felony charges of destruction of government property and obstruction of an official proceeding, as well as four misdemeanors.

“Gardner is seen on video and in pictures standing on a U.S. Capitol window ledge striking and damaging the window with what appears to be a red canister covered with a black case,” an FBI special agent wrote in an affidavit. “Gardner is also seen spraying the contents of this red canister at the U.S. Capitol Police guarding the entrance to the U.S. Capitol.”

Fifteen of the 55 Capitol riot defendants are from the greater Tampa Bay area - one from Hernando, four from Hillsborough, two from Manatee, three from Pinellas, three from Polk and two from Sarasota counties.

Englewood resident Graydon Young, 54, a member of the far-right extremist group, Oath Keepers, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and obstruction of an official proceeding. As part of his plea deal, Young agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors in the conspiracy case involving the Oath Keepers.

Adam Johnson, 36, of Parrish, was arrested after being identified in the now-famous photo carrying Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's lectern.

Johnson was charged with various unlawful entry offenses as well as theft of government property.

Robert Scott Palmer, 53, of Largo man was arrested after being accused of assaulting U.S. Capitol and Metropolitan police with a fire extinguisher.

Palmer was positively identified in surveillance video wearing a red hat, face mask and American flag jacket, throwing a wooden plank at officers, spraying police with a fire extinguisher and then throwing the extinguisher at police when its contents were used up, the FBI said.

Another security video from the Lower West Terrace tunnel shows Palmer again picking up a fire extinguisher and throwing it at police officers, the FBI said.

He was charged with one count of assaulting police officers with a deadly weapon, one count of obstructing law enforcement during an act of civil disorder and one count of unlawful entry and engaging in physical violence while armed with a deadly weapon.

Joseph Hackett, 51, of Sarasota, also a member of Oath Keepers, has been charged with conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding, aiding and abetting, destruction of government property and illegally entering a restricted building or grounds.

Daniel Lyons Scott, 28, of Bradenton, a member of the far-right nationalist group Proud Boys, has been charged with the assault of a federal officer with physical contact and intent to commit another felony, obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder and knowingly engaging in acts of violence on restricted grounds.

Paul Rae, 38, of Seminole, also a member of Proud Boys, has been charged with knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds without authorization and corrupting, obstructing, interfering or impeding an official proceeding.

Michael Stepakoff, 55, a Messianic rabbi in Palm Harbor, was arrested after being positively identified on two closed-circuit video images. One shows Stepakoff entering through a door under an "Exit" sign with a large mob and another shows him standing in the Capitol beneath a chandelier, taking photos with a cell phone.

Stepakoff is accused of knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority, knowingly engaging in disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds and violent entry or disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.

Matthew Council of Riverview, was arrested the day after the Capitol breach and is charged with unlawful entry.

The FBI said agents are still attempting to identify 300 more people who took part in the riot including more than 200 people who assaulted police officers. The FBI has posted photos and videos on a website page titled "Capitol Violence."

"This is far from over," FBI Director Christopher Wray said.

On July 6, the U.S. Capitol Police announced it is opening regional field offices in Tampa and San Francisco to investigate "threats to members of Congress," the first time the department has opened offices outside Washington, D.C.

In the past six months, "our team has been working with federal law enforcement agents to track down the suspects and bring them to justice," said the U.S. Capitol Police in a news release. "We will never forget USCP Officers Brian Sicknick and Howie Liebengood, who died after the attack, nor the sacrifices of the nearly 150 law enforcement officers who were injured."

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, applauded the announcement.

“The U.S. Capitol Police helps keep everyone safe, and the officers are smart to partner with local law enforcement agencies, especially Tampa Bay law enforcement, expert federal prosecutors and agents in Florida," Castor said. "They all have a strong track record of working together for the safety and security of all."

“A regional approach to investigating and prosecuting threats against members is important, so we will be working closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in those locations. More field offices will be opening in the future,” Acting USCP Chief Yogananda Pittman said.

See related stories:

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