‘Ridiculously ashamed’ Capitol rioter hits out at ‘mob mentality’ as he’s jailed for four months
Hopkins was previously convicted on rape charge in 2002
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A Capitol rioter from Kansas City, Kansas, said he was “ridiculously ashamed” before his sentencing for participating in the mob that attempted to disrupt the US transition of power.
Kasey Hopkins, 48, was sentenced to four months of prison by US district judge Tanya S Chutkan. He was also ordered to pay $500 restitution and serve 24 months of probation, according to the Kansas City Star.
Hopkins was previously convicted and sent to prison in 2002 on a rape conviction, according to the Associated Press. At the time, he said he planned to change his life and started a business.
Hopkins however went on to participate in the Capitol riot, during which he twice entered a senator’s private office. He took photos of other rioters ransacking the office.
“I’m ridiculously ashamed to be here right now,” he told the court.
He insisted that he was swept up in the moment, saying that “mob mentality is a very, very real thing.”
The judge praised his attempts to undertake a “personal transformation”, but said his participation in the Capitol riot “boggled my mind”.
Court documents suggested Hopkins wanted to join the Proud Boys, an extremist right wing street gang that allegedly helped coordinate the attack on the Capitol. He was reportedly afraid he would not be allowed into the group because of his prior felony conviction, and proposed “forming a group of ‘Proud Felons for Trump’”.
Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and four of his subordinates are currently facing sedition charges for their participation in the attack. That trial has gone on for nearly three months and is likely approaching a close, according to the Associated Press.
Four members of the Oath Keepers, another extremist right-wing gang that participated in the Capitol riot, have already been convicted of seditious conspiracy.
Hopkins was originally charged with four misdemeanours, but prosecutors agreed to drop those for lesser parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building charges if he agreed to enter a guilty plea.
Approximately 1,000 people have been charged with federal crimes for their participation in the Capitol riot, making it the largest case the US Department of Justice has ever undertaken.
The riot left dozens of police officers injured and four Trump loyalists – including Air Force veteran Ashli Babbitt – dead.