Jan. 6 riot caused $1.5 million in damage to Capitol — and U.S. prosecutors want defendants to pay
By Spencer S. Hsu
June 3, 2021 at 3:19 p.m. EDT
U.S. prosecutors this week put a price tag on damage to the U.S. Capitol from the Jan. 6 breach — $1.5 million so far — and for the first time are asking defendants to cover some of the bill in plea offers, prosecutors and defense lawyers said.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Washington cited the damage estimate Wednesday in court and in plea papers filed in the case of Paul Hodgkins, 38. The Tampa crane operator pleaded guilty to one felony count of obstructing an official proceeding of Congress and faces sentencing July 19 in Washington.
“Your client acknowledges that the riot that occurred on January 6, 2021, caused as of May 17, 2021, approximately $1,495,326.55 damage to the United States Capitol,” stated a plea agreement letter sent by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mona Sedky and signed by Hodgkins and his attorney in May.
The document said Hodgkins agreed to pay $2,000 restitution to the Treasury Department as part of the plea.
Several defense attorneys said prosecutors with the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington are seeking to require restitution of $2,000 in each felony case and $500 in each misdemeanor case.
A spokeswoman for the Justice Department and U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment beyond court filings.
One veteran defense attorney representing several defendants, speaking on the condition of anonymity because talks are pending, said the terms remain under negotiation. Another defense attorney, who spoke under the same conditions, questioned whether a judge could sentence a person to pay restitution if they were not actually charged with causing damage.
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