with a felony related to the january 6 siege at the capitol has been sentenced now. his name is paul hodgkin s. he got eight months in prison. you see him walking into the courtroom there. this is the longest punishment imposed so far, but small sample size, he s only the third person sentenced in the insurrection. you can see hodgkin s in the video we re about to show you inside the senate chamber. he pleaded guilty to obstructing an official proceeding. nbc justice correspondent pete williams joins me now. pete, talk about the significance of this and what we expect next with respect to the sentencing of other defendants. reporter: undoubtedly there will be more sentences harsher than this. the prosecutors asked for 18 months. the lawyer for hodgkin s said there should be no prison time at all or home detention. judge moss in the federal district court in washington said hodgkin s didn t do anything violent or damage property but he said he did participate in a larger event that th
months in prison, 24 months of supervised release after he pleaded guilty to one count of obstructing an official proceeding. and pete williams is joining us now. so it is less than prosecutors asked for. and there was also a lot of talk that this sentencing would be our first big indicator of what may be facing the hundreds of others charged. so what if anything does this sentence tell us, and does it potend anything for the other accused? i think that it will depend what the other accused are sentenced for. three are those who committed violence, attacked police, those who damaged property, and he is in a third category of people who went on to the floor of the house or senate, and then there is the final category of people who just kind of walked in and took selfies or smoked a joint. but prosecutors had urged the judge to impose a 18 month sentence. the lawyer for hodgkin s said that the sentence should be no prison time or a term of home
it simmons is accused of pushing police and trying to push them into the wall mob. all while wearing a butchers coat. investigative reporter scott macfarlane, from our nbc station there in washington. he s been following this closely for months now. scott, one of the biggest hearing days yet. we know coming tomorrow. are there going to be a few court appearances. at least, their schedule to be. a sentencing as well. tell us what you can about what we should expect from that hearing? and walk us through the significance of this? hi, good morning. a very busy important day tomorrow on the january 6th prosecution. mostly because of what happens at 10 am d.c. time tomorrow. it s our first sentencing and what the feds would characterize as a serious prosecution. it s paul hodgkin s a florida. prosecutors say hodgkin s was in the senate chamber, among the first to breach the senate chamber, january 6th. and they say he went into the chamber with rope, goggles, gloves, in their words, ready
yourself, what can we expect to see in these appearances tomorrow? as scott said, this is an important canary in the coal mine. one of the first significant sentencings that will be held tomorrow against a defendant, paul hotchkiss. there are three primary goals, lindsey, that prosecutors are pursuing in the sentencing of defendant hodgkin s. they certainly want to deter other acts of domestic terrorism. and i use that term advisedly, because both director of the fbi, cristofori, and the prosecutors in their court filings in the hodgkin s case, call these acts of domestic terrorism. so, one way to deter future acts of domestic terrorism, is to put yesterday s domestic terrorists in prison for up to 18 months. you also want to inspire cooperation, guilty pleas in cooperation. from some of the other 500 plus
for the possibility of violence. prosecutors are going to recommend how chickens be sentenced to 18 months in prison. big decision for the judge. does the judge spare hodgkin s from prison? that will get people s attention. does the but judge school above what the prosecutors want? sentence him to more than 18 months? that could be an ominous sign for other defendants coming down the road. a real first canary in the coal mine tomorrow to see what other january 6th defendants could be awaiting and sentencing. scott, you also reported yesterday there was a busload of protesters who went to the d.c. jail where some of the defendants are being held right now. it s a person pretty interesting counters while you are there. yeah, the bus ride yesterday. one of the hotter days in d.c.. about 100 people were outside the jail outside. some idaho, nearby in maryland. they are denying the insurrection. really can t be talk to. if you start presenting them with some of the facts that