Christopher John Worrell | |
---|---|
Born | June 26, 1971 |
Nationality | American |
Known for | Participation in the January 6 United States Capitol attack |
Criminal penalty | 10 years in prison |
Christopher John Worrell (born June 26, 1971) is an American far right-wing felon and former fugitive who took part in the January 6 United States Capitol attack.
Worrell was born June 26, 1971 [1] [2] and lives in Naples, Florida. [3] He has a Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis. [2] He is a member of the Proud Boys [4] extremist group. [3]
Worrell was arrested in March 2021 and charged with "entering restricted property or grounds." [5] Worrell was found guilty of assaulting police officers with a weapon [2] at an October 2021 trial. [6] During the trial, Worrell denied using pepper spray on police officers. [6]
In jail he broke a finger and contracted COVID-19. [2] Worrell became the focus of attention at the 2021 Justice for J6 rally where right-wing activists complained that Worrell was slow to receive medical care in jail. [6] The District of Columbia Department of Corrections denied the claims. [6] In October 2021, judge Royce Lamberth upheld a civil rights complaint that the District of Columbia Department of Corrections were too slow to provide the court with Worell's medical records. [7]
In November 2021, Worrell was released from jail and was under house arrest. [3]
His failure to attend court delayed a planned sentencing hearing, scheduled for August 15, 2023. An arrest warrant for Worrell was issued the same day. [2] One week later, the FBI continued to seek public support in their search for Worrell. [8] Worrell was arrested six weeks later, on September 28, 2023. The Justice Department issued a statement saying "Worrell triggered a manhunt and enormous waste of government resources. The FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office spent six weeks tracking Worrell, obtaining multiple warrants, many subpoenas, and other legal processes, all while sending leads throughout the country — from New York to South Carolina to Texas to California to Oregon — to track down tips about his location". [9]
On January 4, 2024, federal judge Royce Lamberth sentenced Worrell to 10 years in prison. [9]
Royce Charles Lamberth /’læm-bərth/ is a senior judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, who formerly served as its chief judge. Since 2015, he has sat as a visiting judge on the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas in San Antonio.
The Proud Boys is an exclusively male North American far-right, neo-fascist militant organization that promotes and engages in political violence. The group's leaders have been convicted of violently opposing the United States government, including the constitutionally prescribed transfer of presidential power. It has been called a street gang and was designated as a terrorist group in Canada and New Zealand. The Proud Boys are known for their opposition to left-wing and progressive groups and for their support of former U.S. President Donald Trump. While Proud Boys leadership has denied being a white supremacist organization, the group and some of its members have been connected to white supremacist events, ideologies, and other white power groups throughout its existence.
Anthime Joseph "Tim" Gionet, more commonly known as Baked Alaska, is an American far-right media personality who gained notoriety through his advocacy on behalf of alt-right and white supremacist ideology. He has also used the alias Tim Treadstone.
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Henry "Enrique" Tarrio is an American far-right activist and convicted seditionist. From 2018 to 2021, he was the chairman of the Proud Boys, a far-right neo-fascist organization that promotes and engages in political violence in the United States. Along with three other Proud Boys leaders, Tarrio was convicted in May 2023 of seditious conspiracy for his role in the 2021 United States Capitol attack. In September 2023, Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in prison.
Joseph Randall Biggs is an American veteran, media personality, organizer of the Proud Boys, and convicted felon for his participation in the January 6 United States Capitol attack.
On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of supporters of then-U.S. president Donald Trump, two months after his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. They sought to keep Trump in power by preventing a joint session of Congress from counting the Electoral College votes to formalize the victory of President-elect Joe Biden. The attack was ultimately unsuccessful in preventing the election results from being certified. According to the House select committee that investigated the incident, the attack was the culmination of a seven-part plan by Trump to overturn the election.
Jacob Anthony Angeli Chansley, also known as the QAnon Shaman, Q Shaman, and Yellowstone Wolf, is an American alt-right conspiracy theorist, activist, and convicted criminal who participated in the January 6 United States Capitol attack, for which he was convicted of felony charges of obstructing an official proceeding. He is a former supporter of former president Donald Trump and a believer and disseminator of the QAnon conspiracy theory.
On January 7, 2021, a United States Capitol Police (USCP) officer, Brian Sicknick, died after suffering two strokes the day after he responded to an attack on the U.S. Capitol. The District of Columbia chief medical examiner found that Sicknick had died from stroke, classifying his death as natural and additionally commented that "all that transpired played a role in his condition", a decision which was criticized by some expert neurologists, who have stated that stress from the attack may have very well caused the stroke. His cremated remains were laid in honor in the Capitol Rotunda on February 2, 2021, before they were buried with full honors at Arlington National Cemetery.
John Earle Sullivan, also known as Activist John, is an American political activist and self-identified photojournalist who participated in the January 6, 2021 United States Capitol attack. Due to his involvement, in November 2023, he was convicted by a jury of felony obstruction of an official proceeding, civil disorder, and five misdemeanors.
The January 6 United States Capitol attack was followed by political, legal, and social repercussions. The second impeachment of Donald Trump, who was charged for incitement of insurrection for his conduct, occurred on January 13. At the same time, Cabinet officials were pressured to invoke the 25th Amendment for removing Trump from office. Trump was subsequently acquitted in the Senate trial, which was held in February after Trump had already left office. The result was a 57–43 vote in favor of conviction, with every Democrat and seven Republicans voting to convict, but two-thirds of the Senate are required to convict. Many in the Trump administration resigned. Several large companies announced they were halting all political donations, and others have suspended funding the lawmakers who had objected to certifying Electoral College results. A bill was introduced to form an independent commission, similar to the 9/11 Commission, to investigate the events surrounding the attack; it passed the House but was blocked by Republicans in the Senate. The House then approved a House "select committee" to investigate the attack. In June, the Senate released the results of its own investigation of the attack. The event led to strong criticism of law enforcement agencies. Leading figures within the United States Capitol Police resigned. A large-scale criminal investigation was undertaken, with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) opening more than 1,200 case files. Federal law enforcement undertook a nationwide manhunt for the perpetrators, with arrests and indictments following within days. Over 890 people had been found guilty of federal crimes.
Ethan Nordean, also known as Rufio Panman, is an American far-right political activist, convicted felon and a leader of the Proud Boys, an all-male neo-fascist organization that engages in political violence.
Dominic Pezzola is an American convicted felon and member of the Proud Boys who participated in the January 6 United States Capitol attack, a violent attack at the U.S. Capitol. He is best known for stealing a police riot shield and using it to break a Capitol window on January 6, 2021, making him the first rioter to breach the building. Indicted in 2021, on federal charges, he was tried in 2023 alongside Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and his key lieutenants, Ethan Nordean, Joseph Biggs, and Zachary Rehl. In May 2023, following a five-month jury trial, Pezzola was convicted of obstructing a congressional proceeding, assaulting a police officer, and other crimes. He was acquitted of seditious conspiracy, the most serious charge. The jury deadlocked on other charges against Pezzola, including conspiring to obstruct the counting of the electoral votes.
On January 6, 2021, supporters of then President Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol Building, disrupting the joint session of Congress assembled to count electoral votes to formalize Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 United States Presidential Election. By the end of the month, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had opened more than 400 case files and issued more than 500 subpoenas and search warrants related to the riot. The FBI also created a website to solicit tips from the public specifically related to the riot and were especially assisted by the crowdsourced sleuthing group Sedition Hunters. By the end of 2021, 725 people had been charged with federal crimes. That number rose to 1,000 by the second anniversary of the attack, and to 1,200 by the third anniversary, at which point over 890 people had been found guilty of federal crimes. These federal cases are handled by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia (D.C.). State cases, of which there are fewer, are handled in the D.C. Superior Court.
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Jeremy Bertino is an American former member of the Proud Boys who testified against Enrique Tarrio during his trial for seditious conspiracy. Bertino was the first Proud Boys member to plead guilty to the same charge.
After Donald Trump lost the 2020 United States presidential election, multiple individuals plotted to use force to stop the peaceful transition of power; this was one aspect of what eventually led to the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol. Fourteen members of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys militias were convicted of seditious conspiracy for planning and leading the attack, while an unidentified pipe-bomber remains at-large.
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