Public January 6 profile · ready to claim
Paul Allard Hodgkins
January 6 defendant
Documented editorial-use imagePaul Allard Hodgkins runs a crane. That is the first true thing anybody should know about the man from Tampa, Florida who became a name in every newspaper in America. Crane operator. Thirty-eight years old at the time. He got on a bus in Florida by himself and rode to Washington. He did not travel with a militia. He did not travel with a group. He rode a bus, alone, and he came home to a job running heavy iron in Hillsborough County. FACT. Paul Allard Hodgkins of Tampa was charged in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, case 1:21-cr-188. He was arrested February 16, 2021, indicted March 5, 2021, and arraigned March 11, 2021, where he pleaded not guilty to all counts. FACT. On June 2, 2021 he changed his plea and pleaded guilty to a single count, obstruction of an official proceeding. Every other charge was dismissed. FACT. On July 19, 2021, Paul Allard Hodgkins became the first January 6 defendant in the country sentenced on a felony. U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss gave him eight months in prison, 24 months of supervised release, a $100 special assessment and $2,000 in restitution. Every felony sentence that came after his was measured against his. THEIR ACCOUNT. He stood up in that courtroom and did not blame anybody. He told the judge it was, in his words, a foolish decision on my part that I take full responsibility for, and said he spoke, in his words, not because I face consequence, but because of the damage that day's incident caused. That is on the transcript. That is a man taking it on the chin in public, before anybody knew how any of this would end. FACT. On January 20, 2025, President Trump granted clemency covering the January 6 prosecutions. Paul Allard Hodgkins received a full pardon. DOCUMENTED INFERENCE. He was first in line. He pleaded before there was a benchmark, before the appellate courts had ruled on anything, before anyone knew how the obstruction statute would hold up. He served his eight months and went home to Tampa while the legal fight over that statute was still years from finishing. What the record shows: a Tampa crane operator who went alone, owned it in open court, served his time, and got a full pardon. What it does not prove: that the first sentence handed down was the right one. Being first is not the same as being fairly measured. THE CASE RECORD Case 1:21-cr-188, United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Arrested February 16, 2021. Indicted March 5, 2021. Guilty plea June 2, 2021. Sentenced July 19, 2021 to 8 months incarceration, 24 months supervised release, $2,000 restitution. Full pardon January 20, 2025. This profile is unclaimed. If this is you, or your family, claiming it is free, forever.
The case file
On the record
- Case number
- 1:21-cr-188
- Court
- U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
- Disposition
- Arrested 2/16/21. Initial appearance held 2/24/21. Indicted 3/5/21 and arraigned 3/11/21 where he pleaded not guilty to all counts. Plea agreement hearing held 6/2/21 where he pleaded guilty to count 1 of the indictment. Sentenced 7/19 to 8 months incarceration followed by 2 years supervised release, must pay $2,000 restitution.
- Arrested
- February 16, 2021
Charges
- Obstruction of an Official Proceeding and Aiding and Abetting; Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds; Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building; Parading, Demonstrating, or Picketing in a Capitol Building
Sentence
8 months incarceration followed by 2 years supervised release, must pay $2,000 restitution
Press & news
- https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.228457/gov.uscourts.dcd.228457.23.0.pdf →
- https://www.wusf.org/courts-law/2021-07-19/tampa-man-faces-first-sentencing-for-felony-in-us-capitol-riot →
- https://www.cbsnews.com/news/capitol-riot-sentencing-paul-allard-hodgkins-felony/ →
- https://apps.npr.org/jan-6-archive/database.html →
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Connection to United States v. Nichols
Paul Allard Hodgkins appears in the record of United States v. Nichols. The full case — timeline, people, documents — is public and free.
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