'Taking the Capitol': FL Proud Boys Member Sentenced In Jan. 6 Riot

WASHINGTON, DC — A 52-year-old Naples, Florida, man who federal officials said prompted a six-week manhunt after being convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol insurrection has been sentenced to prison.

The U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday that Christopher Worrell was convicted of several felonies, including assaulting police officers with a "deadly and dangerous weapon," and was sentenced to 120 months in prison. The DOJ said Worrell is a suspected member of the far-right extremist group Proud Boys.

"His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election," the DOJ said in a news release.

'Taking the Capitol'

Worrell was accused of joining other suspected Proud Boys from the group's Hurricane Coast chapter in a weeks-long plot that ultimately led to the Jan. 6 insurrection.

The DOJ said the Proud Boys strategized ways to interrupt the electoral vote certification, calling police traitors in the process.

Related:

• Former Proud Boys Leader Guilty Of Sedition In Jan. 6 Attack
• Proud Boys Sedition Trial Begins 2 Years After Jan. 6 Attack

Wearing a tactical vest while carrying a radio and Sabre Red maximum strength pepper gel, Worrell was accused of threatening U.S. Capitol Police and breaching the West Plaza of the Capitol with other Proud Boy.

"Once on Capitol grounds, Worrell filmed himself calling the USCP officers 'scum,' 'piece[s] of “s---' and 'commies,' among other expletives and insults," the DOJ said in the release.

About 30 minutes later, the DOJ said Worrell pepper sprayed a line of police officers who were defending the Capitol on the West Plaza, an act that was captured by a photojournalist. Worrell was accused of then bragging about it.

Then, 20 minutes later, Worrell and another suspected Proud Boy pushed two Capitol police officers who were guarding a staircase that led to the Capitol's Upper West Terrace, the DOJ said.

Worrell was accused of cheering after the Proud Boy member engaged in assaults that "collapsed the police line," making way for rioters to head up the stairs to the Capitol building, the DOJ said. The rioters were the first to break into the building, the DOJ said.

"Worrell and other members of Zone 5 celebrated (the) assault, with Worrell turning the camera on himself to say, 'Yeah! Taking the Capitol!'"

After the insurrection, the DOJ said Worrell shared a message on Facebook.

“The violence was perpetrated on civil protestors. Not one person was causing harm or inciting violence on those steps!! The Capitol COMMIE Police fired tear gas and flash bangs into a PEACEFUL CROWD," Worrell said, per the DOJ in the release.

On the Run

Soon after the riot, Worrell was arrested on March 12, 2021 in Naples, the DOJ said.

He was convicted on May 12, 2023 of the following charges, per the DOJ:

• Assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon
• Obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress
• Obstructing, impeding, or interfering with officers during the commission of a civil disorder
• Entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon
• Disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon
• Engaging in physical violence with a deadly or dangerous weapon all felonies
• Act of physical violence in the Capitol Grounds or Buildings

Worrell's conviction took place after a five-day bench trial in the District of Columbia, where he was accused of perjuring himself.

He was initially scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 18, 2023; however, he was accused of cutting off and leaving his GPS ankle monitor in a store parking lot four days prior to sentencing, making him a fugitive.

The DOJ said FBI agents spent six weeks searching for Worrell, who was eventually arrested at his Naples home.

"In addition to an unresponsive Worrell, the FBI also found night-vision goggles, a wallet with approximately $4,000 in cash and a bag with new camping gear inside. Worrell later admitted that he had faked an opioid overdose upon arrest as a 'delay tactic," the DOJ said in the release.

Aside from his prison term, Worrell was ordered 36 months of supervised release, restitution of $2,000 and a $610 special assessment, the DOJ said.

Worrell is one of at least 1,200 people who have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the Capitol riot, the DOJ said.

More than 400 people have been charged on suspicion of assaulting or impeding law enforcement, the DOJ said, adding an investigation is ongoing.