Christopher Worrell vanishes before he can be sentenced for rioting with Florida Proud
A Proud Boy who was found guilty of pepper spraying cops during the Jan 6 Capitol riot has vanished before sentencing – prompting a manhunt by the FBI.
Christopher Worrell, 52, of Naples, Florida, was part of the mob storming the Capitol as Congress was certifying Joe Biden‘s presidential victory on Jan 6 2021 and could be facing 14 years behind bars.
The Friday sentencing was canceled and a bench warrant for his arrest issued under seal on Tuesday, according to court records. FBI agents are now trying to track Worrell down.
Photos of Worrell taken on January 6 2021 show him flashing the white power symbol on multiple occasions.
The U.S. attorney’s office for Washington, D.C., encouraged the public to share any information about his whereabouts.
Christopher Worrell, 52, was part of the mob storming the Capitol as Congress was certifying Joe Biden’s presidential victory on Jan 6 2021 and could be facing 14 years behind bars. He is pictured, right, with an accomplice, with both men flashing the white power symbol
Worrell was found guilty of pepper spraying cops during the Jan 6 Capitol riot has vanished before sentencing – prompting a manhunt by the FBI. He is seen in side profile in the brown jacket while holding his hand aloft.
Worrell had been on house arrest in Florida since his release from jail in Washington in November 2021, less than a month after a judge substantiated his civil-rights complaints about his treatment in the jail.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth found that DC jail officials had failed to provide Worrell with adequate treatment for his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and a broken hand that may have required surgery.
According to Associated Press, phone numbers listed for the 52-year-old and the woman named as his custodian during his house arrest were not functional.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth found that DC jail officials had failed to provide Worrell with adequate treatment for his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and a broken hand that may have required surgery
More than three dozen people charged in the Capitol siege have been identified by federal authorities as leaders, members or associates of the Proud Boys, whose members describe it as a politically incorrect men’s club for ‘Western chauvinists.’
Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and three other members of the extremist group were convicted of seditious conspiracy in May.
A total of about 1,000 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the riot.
More than 600 of them have pleaded guilty or been convicted after trials decided by a jury or judge.
About 600 have been sentenced, with over half getting terms of imprisonment ranging from three days to 18 years.
Meanwhile, former U.S. President Donald Trump was indicted on felony charges for working to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the run-up to the violent Capitol riot.
On Monday, Trump attacked the federal judge overseeing his Jan 6 case just days after she warned him against making statements that might intimidate witnesses or impact the ‘integrity’ of the trial.
More than three dozen people charged in the Capitol siege have been identified by federal authorities as leaders, members or associates of the Proud Boys
The U.S. attorney’s office for Washington, D.C., encouraged the public to share any information about his whereabouts
Judge Amy Chutkan issued repeated warnings to Trump, including referencing his ‘terms of release,’ during a hearing last week with his lawyers in Washington, D.C.
Trump went after her early Monday – quoting the judge as she imposed a 15-month sentence on a woman who breached the Senate chamber January 6.
Trump said the language came from ‘highly partisan Judge Tanya Chutkan, angrily sentencing a J-6er in October of 2022. She obviously wants me behind bars. VERY BIASED & UNFAIR!.’
Trump published an all-caps quotation by Chutkan, as she sentenced Christine Priola, a school occupational therapist who pleaded guilty to obstructing an official proceeding – one of the charges Trump is also facing. He posted it around 1 am Monday.
‘This was nothing but an attempt to overthrow the government… by people who were upset their guy lost,’ said Chutkan.
‘I see the videotapes. I see the footage of the flags and the signs that people were carrying and the hats that they were wearing, and the garb,’ the judge said in October.
‘And the people who mobbed that Capitol were there in fealty, in loyalty to one man, not to the Constitution, of which most of the people who come before me seem woefully ignorant, not to the ideals of this county and not to the principles of democracy. It’s blind loyalty to one person who, by the way, remains free to this day.’
Former President Donald Trump, seen on day three of the LIV Golf Invitational at his Bedminster, New Jersey club Sunday, went after the federal judge overseeing his January 6 case in Washington
Judge Chutkan admonished Christine Priola, who pleaded guilty to obstructing an official proceeding after breaching the Senate Chamber Jan 6, while handing down a 15-month sentence
The judge also said she believed Priola was ‘sincere’ in her regret. Before sentencing, she wrote the court: ‘I do not like it when people break the law or take the law into their own hands.
‘I do not want people out there acting like morons. I was one of those morons. I caused great harm to others and it caused a ripple effect that I could never undo.’
Trump’s blast came despite warnings from the judge that were aimed more at comments that might taint the jury or intimidate witnesses. She went back and forth with Trump lawyer John Lauro Friday about language in her order governing materials that prosecutors must share.
Judge Tanya Chutkan issued a protective order Friday governing Trump’s review of evidence in the case
She ultimately decided to apply it only to ‘sensitive information,’ not to to all the transcripts and material he might receive. She also imposed terms on how he can view it, requiring him to relinquish his cell phone and not view documents while having access to a photocopier.
She also issued a warning to to Trump’s lawyers that ‘inflammatory statements’ would bring faster trial – something they appear eager to avoid.
Chutkan, a Barack Obama appointee, issued repeated warnings to Trump’s lawyers about him making public statements. She said she understood he had First Amendment rights, but said during a criminal trial his desire to respond to opponents ‘has to yield.’
That came as Lauro brought up former Vice President Mike Pence, a possible witness in the case, who Trump has attacked publicly amid Pence’s statements that he didn’t have the authority to send back certified votes as Trump claims he did. Both men are seeking the GOP presidential nomination.
Trump also ripped Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is overseeing the case, following reports prosecutors obtained a warrant to access his Twitter account.
‘How dare lowlife prosecutor, Deranged Jack Smith, break into my former Twitter account without informing me and, indeed, trying to completely hide this atrocity from me,’ Trump wrote.
‘What could he possibly find out that is not already known. Just like the early morning raid of Mar-a-Lago! Why isn’t the DOJ raiding Crooked Joe Biden, the most CORRUPT (and Incompetent!) President in the history of the United States?’