An attorney for one of the first alleged Capitol rioters to plead guilty after being charged for his role in the January 6 insurrection that left five dead is pleading with the federal judge who is about to sentence his client that he only be given a “slap on the wrist” and claiming that a lenient sentence would help “heal the nation.”

The Daily Beast reports that defense attorney Patrick Leduc, who represents Paul Hodgkins, implored Judge Randolph D. Moss to show mercy:

“This case is the story of a man who represents all that we would want in our fellow Americans. It is the story of [a] man who for just one hour on one day, lost his bearings and his way.

“A sentence that provides Paul Hodgkins ‘charity’ would go a very long way toward healing a nation in dire need of seeing what undeserved ‘grace’ looks like.”

In the rambling, 32-page memo Leduc sent to Judge Moss, there’s also the bizarre urging that “Hodgkins should not be cancelled,” a clear reference to the right-wing whining that things are being “cancelled” because they’re politically incorrect, racist, or obscene.

Leduc also references Abraham Lincoln, who probably wouldn’t have taken very kindly if Confederates had ransacked Washington, D.C. and killed security officials guarding members of Congress the way Hodgkins and his buddies allegedly did:

“How this Court deals with Paul Hodgkins can stand as a symbol of what we are and, in the event ‘charity’ is given, what President Lincoln hoped we would always be: A nation that forgives, gives undeserved grace, and restoration that promotes healing.”

Grace and restoration? Charity? Consider that the Southern traitors were never allowed to serve in Congress thanks to legislation passed at the end of the Civil War. Attacking the seat of government and waging war against your country should be dealt with by issuing the harshest of penalties.

Sadly, based on the sentence given to Anna Morgan-Lloyd — three months probation — it seems unlikely that Judge Moss will throw the book at him.

If you want to send a message that insurrection is wrong, shouldn’t you punish those who took part in a way that will make it clear such behavior will never be tolerated?

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