Tampa Bay Rioters Face New Challenges After Supreme Court Ruling

The Tampa Bay area has the highest number of Jan. 6 rioters charged per capita in the United States, and some may be affected by Friday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling regarding an obstruction-related charge.

Tampa lawyer Patrick Leduc represented Paul Hodgkins after the Capitol riot in 2021. Hodgkins, the Tampa man who took a selfie in the Senate chambers, was charged and pleaded guilty to obstructing an official proceeding and sentenced to eight months in jail. “Knowing what I now know today, would I change my advice or recommendation to Mr. Hodgkins? No, I wouldn’t have,” Leduc said.