Jan 6 defendant disappears hours before he was due to be sentenced
A wanted notice has been issued against Christopher Worrell by the FBI
A Florida-based member of the Proud Boys, who was found guilty on seven charges related to his involvement in the January 6 riot, was initially scheduled to be sentenced on Friday in a Washington DC court. However, he has gone missing.
A wanted notice has been issued against Christopher Worrell by the FBI after he went missing hours before his sentencing.
Patricia Hartman, a spokesperson for the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, told NBC News: “We are keen to receive any information from the public regarding his location.”
According to court records, the sentencing hearing for Worrell, initially slated for Friday at 2.30pm ET has been indefinitely delayed.
US District Judge Royce Lamberth, on Thursday, issued an official notice revealing the issuance of an arrest warrant for Worrell. This notification wasn’t officially recorded until Friday.
The FBI added him to the wanted list for “violating conditions of release pending sentencing on federal charges related to the violence at the United States Capitol in Washington, DC, on 6 January 2021”.
The FBI encouraged individuals with information to make contact with their local FBI office or embassy.
He was convicted by Judge Lamberth on all seven charges, including obstruction of an official proceeding by lawmakers, assaulting officers during the riots and engaging in violence on Capitol grounds.
“The evidence demonstrates that Mr Worrell travelled to Washington, DC, for the purpose of ensuring that the Electoral College Certification of President Biden failed,” Mr Lamberth said in a written version of his ruling against Worrell.
“The evidence shows that he then furthered that goal, by both joining the mob and then by spraying the officers,” he added.
Worrell had used a “pepper gel” spray against police during the 6 January riots.
He was initially detained pre-trial following his arrest in March 2021 but the judge ordered his released to home detention in November that year. It was after it come to light that Washington DC jail officials had failed to provide Worrell a proper treatment for his non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma as well as his broken hand.
The prosecution is aiming to secure a 14-year imprisonment term for Worrell, based on his unwillingness to acknowledge culpability, absence of remorse, and false statements made while testifying under oath.
Worrell’s associate and co-defendant, Daniel Scott, who is also affiliated with the Florida chapter of the Proud Boys, received a five-year prison sentence last month.