Proud Boy who disappeared ahead of his Jan. 6 sentencing was found unconscious by agents at his home

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A member of the Proud Boys extremist organization who vanished just days before his scheduled sentencing in connection with his involvement in the U.S. Capitol riot was discovered unconscious by federal agents upon attempting a surreptitious return to his residence, as announced by the FBI on Friday.

Christopher Worrell, hailing from Naples, Florida, was subsequently transported to a hospital where he remained as of Friday, with no additional information concerning his condition provided by the FBI’s Tampa office.

Worrell had been under house arrest when he mysteriously disappeared last month, right before his sentencing in Washington. Prosecutors had been pursuing a 14-year prison term for Worrell due to his convictions for assault, obstruction of Congress, and other related offenses.

According to the FBI, upon Worrell’s return to his residence, agents swiftly surrounded and entered the premises, discovering him unconscious and promptly providing necessary medical attention. It was within his home that agents uncovered night-vision goggles, $4,000 in cash, and survivalist equipment.

As of the time of this report, Worrell’s attorney, William Shipley, had not responded to a phone message.

Worrell had been released from a Washington jail in November 2021, less than a month after a judge validated his civil rights complaints about the treatment he had received while incarcerated. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth determined that Worrell’s medical care for a broken hand had been unjustifiably delayed, subsequently holding D.C. jail officials in contempt of court.

The 52-year-old Worrell had been convicted following a bench trial in May for assaulting officers with pepper spray gel during the Capitol assault on January 6, 2021, when a mob of Donald Trump supporters breached the Capitol building. Authorities reported that Worrell, donned in tactical gear, openly boasted about deploying the substance and hurled derogatory insults at officers, referring to them as “commies” and “scum.”

Prosecutors further alleged that Worrell had perjured himself during his trial, claiming that he had actually been spraying other rioters. The judge deemed this assertion “preposterous,” according to prosecutors’ court filings.

In defense, Worrell’s attorney contended in court documents that his client had brought the spray gel and tactical vest to Washington for defensive purposes due to prior violent clashes between Proud Boys and counter-protesters. The attorney suggested that the chaotic atmosphere at the Capitol may have contributed to misperceptions and inaccuracies in Worrell’s trial testimony.

Federal authorities have identified over three dozen individuals charged in connection with the Capitol attack as leaders, members, or affiliates of the Proud Boys, an organization whose members describe it as a politically incorrect men’s club for “Western chauvinists.”

It is noteworthy that the longest sentence imposed in relation to the January 6 attack was against Enrique Tarrio, leader of the Proud Boys, and three of his associates. They were convicted of seditious conspiracy and other offenses, which prosecutors asserted was part of a scheme to prevent the transfer of power from Donald Trump to Democrat Joe Biden.

In total, more than 1,100 individuals have faced federal charges in connection with the January 6 riot, with over 650 already sentenced. Approximately two-thirds of those sentenced have received custodial sentences, as reported by Big Big News upon reviewing court records.

(Note: The original article was written by an author named Richer, who reported from Boston.)

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