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A crane operator from Florida who breached the United States Senate chamber carrying a Trump campaign flag was sentenced Monday to eight months behind bars, the first punishment handed down for a felony charge in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and one that could help determine the severity of other sentences in hundreds of pending cases.

In pronouncing the sentence on Paul Allard Hodgkins, U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss said Mr. Hodgkins had played a role, if not as significant as others, in one of the worst episodes in American history. Thousands of rioters loyal to then-President Donald Trump stormed聽the Capitol and disrupted the certification聽of Joe Biden鈥檚 election win, in a stunning display of public violence.

鈥淭hat was not, by any stretch of the imagination, a protest,鈥� Mr. Moss said. 鈥淚t was 鈥� an assault on democracy.鈥� He added: 鈥淚t left a stain that will remain on us 鈥� on the country for years to come.鈥�

Mr. Moss acknowledged Mr. Hodgkins鈥� sentence could set a benchmark for future cases. Deciding an appropriate punishment for Mr. Hodgkins, he said, was more challenging because the case is unique and the court couldn鈥檛 look to previous sentencings as a guide.

Mr. Hodgkins was disappointed a prison term was imposed, his lawyer, Patrick Leduc, said in a phone interview after Monday鈥檚 hearing. He said Mr. Hodgkins was heading back to his hometown of Tampa to organize his affairs 鈥� which will include speaking to his employer about whether imprisonment will cost him his job 鈥� before reporting to prison in several months.

鈥淗e鈥檚 hurt. He鈥檚 sad,鈥� Mr. Leduc said. 鈥淟ife is coming at him at 100 mph.鈥�

More than 500 people have been charged so far for their participation in the attack, and many like Mr. Hodgkins were accused of serious crimes but were not indicted, as some others were, for roles in larger conspiracies. They will have to decide whether to plead guilty or go to trial.

Mr. Moss interrupted Mr. Leduc, Mr. Hodgkins鈥� attorney, to ask if granting the defense request to spare Mr. Hodgkins from prison could encourage others disgruntled by the results of a future election to besiege the Capitol.

鈥淚f we allow people to storm the United States Capitol, what are we doing to preserve our democracy?鈥� Mr. Moss asked.

But the judge said Mr. Hodgkins deserved a lesser sentence than the 18 months prosecutors had requested, in part because he didn鈥檛 assault anyone, didn鈥檛 damage government property, and wasn鈥檛 among the lead attackers.

Mr. Hodgkins apologized to the court and said he felt ashamed. Speaking calmly from a prepared text, he described being caught up in the euphoria as he walked down Washington鈥檚 most famous avenue, then followed a crowd of hundreds into the Capitol.

鈥淚f I had any idea that the protest ... would escalate [the way] it did ... I would never have ventured farther than the sidewalk of Pennsylvania Avenue,鈥� he told the judge. He added, 鈥淭his was a foolish decision on my part.鈥�

He pleaded guilty last month to obstructing an official proceeding by participating in an attack that forced聽lawmakers to run and hide in fear.聽Five people died, including a police officer and rioter shot by police. Two other police officers who faced Jan. 6 rioters died by suicide days later.

In requesting an 18-month prison sentence during the hearing in Washington, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mona Sedky likened the attack to 鈥渄omestic terrorism.鈥�

Mr. Leduc said the government鈥檚 description of the Jan. 6 events was hyperbole.

鈥淚 think it is gaslighting the country,鈥� he said. What happened, he added, was 鈥渁 protest that became a riot.鈥�

Mr. Moss interrupted Leduc again, noting that some of the Trump supporters seemed to be out to track down lawmakers, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

鈥淭here were people who were storming through the halls of the Capitol saying, 鈥榃here鈥檚 Nancy?鈥欌�� the judge told the attorney. 鈥淭hat is more than a simple riot.鈥�

Ms. Sedky said that while Mr. Hodgkins didn鈥檛 engage in violence himself, he walked among many who did聽鈥� in what she called 鈥渢he ransacking of the People鈥檚 House.鈥� And as he walked by smashed police barriers, he could see the smoke of tear gas and the chaos ahead of him.

鈥淲hat does he do?鈥� she asked the court. 鈥淗e walks toward it. He doesn鈥檛 walk away.鈥�

Mr. Hodgkins, she added, was in the midst of a mob that forced lawmakers to seek shelter and some congressional staffers to hide in fear, locked in offices, as hundreds swept through the building. Those in fear for their lives that day will, she said, 鈥渂ear emotional scars for many years 鈥� if not forever.鈥�

Under the June plea deal, Mr. Hodgkins agreed to plead guilty to the one count and pay $2,000 in restitution to the Treasury Department. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to drop less serious charges, including entering a restricted building and disorderly conduct. They also said they would ask for a reduced sentence for acceptance of responsibility and for saving the government from a costly trial.

In earlier filings, Mr. Leduc described his client as an otherwise law-abiding American who, despite living in a poorer part of Tampa, regularly volunteered at a food bank. He noted that Mr. Hodgkins is an Eagle Scout.

His actions on Jan. 6 鈥渋s the story of a man who for just one hour on one day lost his bearings ... who made a fateful decision to follow the crowd,鈥� the attorney said.

But Judge Moss said Monday he didn鈥檛 accept that there was no forethought by Mr. Hodgkins or that he had no ill intentions. He brought rope and protective goggles with him to Washington, the judge said, and that demonstrated he came 鈥減repared to defend his position and engage in whatever needed to be done.鈥�

Video footage shows Mr. Hodgkins wearing a Trump 2020 T-shirt, the flag flung over his shoulder, and eye goggles around his neck, inside the Senate. He took a selfie with聽a self-described shaman in a horned helmet聽and other rioters on the dais behind him.

Separately on Monday, Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys who was聽arrested in Washington聽two days before the riot, pleaded guilty to burning a Black Lives Matter banner that was torn down from a historic Black church in December. He also pleaded guilty to attempted possession of a large-capacity ammunition feeding device after police found two high-capacity firearm magazines when he was arrested.

This story was reported by The Associated Press.