Federal prosecutors want compensation for Capitol insurrection damage in exchange for plea deals

Prosecutors ask defendants to pay as much as $2,000 in restitution.

The riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (AFP via Getty Images)

Federal prosecutors involved in cases resulting from the riot that descended upon the US Capitol on 6 January have demanded restitution from some participants in the form of thousands of dollars.

Text of a plea bargain obtained by The Washington Post involving a 38-year-old Florida man facing one felony charge over the riot revealed that prosecutors asked the man to acknowledge that nearly $1.5m in damages was done to the Capitol complex during the assault.

As part of the deal, the defendant, Paul Hodgkins, acknowledged his role in the attack and agreed to pay $2,000 in restitution to the US Treasury Department, according to the Post, which reported that other felony defendants faced similar agreements.

Some who faced lesser misdemeanor charges also were asked to pay $500 each in damages, the Post reported.

The news is the first confirmation of the Justice Department’s efforts to recover some restitution from riot participants, which differs from the punitive prison time and sky-high fines that many of the rioters face.

In addition to his $2,000 restitution, Hodgkins faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine as high as $250,000 for his actions. He is due to be sentenced next month.

The Justice Department has now charged more than 400 participants of the 6 January attack, which resulted in several deaths including that of a Capitol Police officer. Two other officers died from suicide in the days following the attack.

Despite the scores of arrests and charges resulting from the events of that day, law enforcement officials say the investigation is not slowing down, with one official telling NBC News in early May that “the worst of the worst” were still being targeted and rounded up by authorities.