Thread by @julie_kelly2

Now listening to second plea deal for J6 defendant Paul Hodgkins. His charges:

justice.gov/usao-dc/case-m…

https://twitter.com/ryanjreilly/status/1400104044711063556?s=20

“Took selfies” in the Capitol. There were prayers going on, MY GOD.

How is this real?

“He did not have permission to be there.” Hodgkins now explaining how he tried to help protester injured by rubber bullets fired by law enforcement during chaos.

He’s going to plead guilty to one count of obstruction of an official proceeding, a felony.

I explained the offense here. Just like in this instance, it’s DOJ attempt to add felony to misdemeanor case. Criminalizing political dissent in contradiction to the purpose of the 2002 post-Enron law.

amgreatness.com/2021/03/15/cap…

LOL no matter how ridiculous this whole thing is, I’m laughing at all the J6 sedition hunters who’ll be very disappointed that most of these cases will be settled on glorified obstruction or trespassing charges.

Well, this is interesting. Despite initial estimates that damage to Capitol was around $30 million, court says damages are $1.4 million. I believe the higher figure has been cited repeatedly in DOJ charging docs.

Judge Moss sounds slightly sympathetic. He seems skeptical that this plea deal is fair, just my nonlegal observation. Urging lawyer and defendant to speak before final ruling.

Hodgkins will accept plea agreement. His sentence will be at judge's discretion but likely less than two years.