"It takes courage and strength of character to be the first person to step forward," his lawyers wrote in the sentencing memo for Paul Hodgkins.
MAGA Rioter Wants Credit From Judge For His Guilty Plea
Credit: Twitter/FBI
July 9, 2021

You might remember Hodgkins as the MAGA rioter who proudly took his Trump flag onto the Senate floor during the January 6th riot. He does not seem to have learned much in the interim, now asking the judge for leniency because he took a plea deal.

Source: Raw Story

Paul Hodgkins, who took a selfie in the Senate Chamber during the Jan. 6 insurrection, pleaded guilty last month to one count of obstructing an official proceeding, and his attorneys filed a sentencing memo invoking the Civil War and so-called "cancel culture," reported MSNBC's Scott MacFarlane.

"It takes courage and strength of character to be the first person to step forward," the filing read.

Hodgkins was actually the second rioter to plead guilty, in exchange for a plea agreement which saw 4 of the 5 charges dropped against him and a $2000 fine imposed as restitution. So his "courage" was sweetened somewhat first. Federal guidelines call for Hodgins to be sentenced to between 15-21 months but it's expected he won't get that. Some think he might not get any jail time at all. Sentencing is July 19.

The lawyers' argument had numerous instances of citing the leniency of Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses Grant showed to Confederate soldiers after the Civil War.

"This Court stands in the shadows of Lincoln and Grant," the filing read. "The rebellion of the south did not deserve the 'grace' that Lincoln and Grant would provide. But the malice and humiliation that many might have sought would not heal the nation as both Lincoln and Grant fully understood."

The attorneys asked the judge not to enact "vengeance and the malice" that "many on one side of the spectrum seek," and instead grant leniency to their client.

"Paul Hodgkins should not be cancelled," the filing reads.

Yeah. "Cancelled."

It would seem, judging by the hubris and the chutzpah of their words, that Hodgkins' lawyers are also delusional MAGA Trumpers. But that's just a guess. Hodgkins' sentence will likely tell us how the other MAGA rioters will most likely be dealt with.

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