The FBI has announced the capture of a member of the far-right group Proud Boys who disappeared just three days before his scheduled sentencing for his involvement in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Christopher Worrell, 52, was apprehended on Thursday, according to the FBI. The agency did not provide further details about his arrest.
Worrell had been on house arrest in Florida and a federal arrest warrant was issued for him on August 15, just days before he was set to be sentenced. He had previously been found guilty in May of seven charges related to the Capitol riot, including obstruction of an official proceeding and engaging in violence on Capitol grounds. Each charge carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison, along with possible financial penalties. Prosecutors have requested a 14-year sentence for Worrell.
This arrest brings the total number of Proud Boys charged for their involvement in the Capitol attack to over 36, according to the Justice Department. Former Proud Boys chair Enrique Tarrio was recently sentenced to 22 years in prison, the longest sentence handed out so far in connection with the attack.
Worrell's initial arrest occurred in March 2021, and he was subsequently released to be held under house arrest pending his sentencing. He was accused of assaulting officers with pepper spray during the riot and was captured in multiple photos at the Capitol. Worrell's attorneys claimed he was spraying other rioters, but the judge dismissed this explanation as "preposterous." A photojournalist reportedly witnessed Worrell spraying towards Capitol police, and Worrell allegedly boasted about using a whole can of pepper spray.
The Proud Boys, a far-right organization formed in 2016, has seen several of its members convicted for their roles in the Capitol attack. Worrell's capture marks another development in the ongoing legal proceedings surrounding the events of January 6, 2021.