A known member of the Proud Boys, Christopher John Worrell, was charged late last week with crimes perpetrated at the Capitol Insurrection...
Newsweek
Christopher Worrell, 49, of Collier County, Florida, is accused of engaging in violence on restricted grounds, knowingly entering restricted grounds, disorderly conduct on restricted grounds, violent entry onto Capitol grounds, and obstructing Congressional proceedings after allegedly joining up with fellow members of the far-right group in Washington D.C.
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Worrell was identified in a number of photographs on the day of the attack, including one in which he is at the back of a large group of Proud Boys, with leading member Joe Biggs seen at the front.
Worrell was pictured on the steps of the Capitol during the storming of the building, as well as using his pepper spray at an unseen target off-camera.
He was geared up and ready to go...
Naples Daily News — 3/16/21
He was equipped with tactical gear in preparation for conflict with law enforcement, including a tactical vest, communications equipment, and pepper spray gel, according to the prosecution.
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“Every indication is that Worrell came prepared to confront and potentially violently assault law enforcement at the U.S. Capitol building,” a document from the U.S. Attorney's Office reads. “There is no other plausible explanation for Worrell’s choice to bring pepper spray gel onto the U.S. Capitol grounds other than for an offensive, armed assault. Nor is there any other plausible target of his pepper spray attack.”
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“The officers Worrell assaulted were the last line of defense of the U.S. Capitol building, within which were hundreds of members of this nation’s legislative branch and several persons in the presidential line of succession,” a document from the U.S. Attorney's Office reads. “And the impact of Worrell’s assault was cumulative with that of other assaults on law enforcement officers.”
He’s been ordered held in jail until a grand jury hands down felony indictments:
Naples Daily News — 3/19/21
(U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Chief Judge Beryl A.) Howell ordered Worrell transferred from Tampa to a Washington, D.C., holding facility until trial. His next court appointment is at 10 a.m. April 8, unless he is indicted before that, she said.
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FBI agents arrested Worrell on March 12, at the home he shares with his girlfriend, Trish Priller, an executive assistant for the Naples Daily News. Worrell was taken to Tampa, where he's spent the last week, held without bond.
Prosecutors revealed Friday that Worrell was not at his home during the raid, saying he was 3 hours away camping. He was immediately contacted and instructed to turn himself in at the nearest FBI office.
They said Worrell instead told them that he would meet them at his home. The lawyers said he was emotional, they didn't know what he planned or where he was specifically and he had access to a cell phone for at least two hours past what an arrested person would normally have.
The FBI found video of Worrell defending the Proud Boys against accusations of racism...
Law & Crime
An FBI agent who reviewed numerous press and social media photos taken Jan. 6 identified Worrell wearing a tactical vest, a body camera, a hydration pack, a push-to-talk radio communication earpiece, and a can of gel pepper spray. Subsequent images show Worrell deploying what is assumed to be the can of pepper spray at a “line of law enforcement officers present.”
Though the numerous images embedded within federal court records do not depict Worrell inside the capitol, they do show him on what appear to be the capitol steps behind a line of police officers who were attempting to keep the crowd at bay. That is enough, authorities said, to charge him with being “within a restricted building or grounds” under federal law.
The FBI also located relevant video posted to YouTube by a Turkish broadcaster. The recording shows Worrell talking with Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, other Proud Boys members, and an interviewer at a Naples, Florida shopping mall. The video, which is still available online as of the time of this writing, is embedded below and cued to the relevant conversation:
That’s not the only blast from the past biting Worrell in the ass...
Collier County Sheriff’s Office — 2009 Press Release:
A 37-year-old man is facing charges of impersonating a police officer after deputies say he followed a 23-year-old motorist, while flashing a badge and yelling at her about her driving in East Naples late Monday night.
Christopher J. Worrell had a loaded handgun, handcuffs, knives, boxes of ammunition, and a badge in his possession when deputies arrested him, according to Collier County sheriff’s reports.
Worrell, 2325 Hidden Lake Drive, Unit 10, East Naples, was charged with impersonating a law enforcement officer, a felony.
Arrest reports gave this account:
Danielle Bower told deputies that she was traveling west on U.S. 41 East shortly after 8 p.m. when she drove through a yellow light at the intersection at Guilford Road. She noticed a silver Hummer make a U-turn at Guilford and accelerate through the intersection, running the red light.
The Hummer pulled up alongside Bower’s vehicle as she headed west on U.S. 41 East. The driver, Worrell, showed her a gold badge and signaled for her to roll down her window. Bower, who works as a CCSO emergency dispatcher, told deputies that she did not recognize the badge.
Worrell began yelling at Bower, telling her that she ran the red light.
Bower told Worrell that if she ran the red light, then he did too. She told deputies that he Worrell said that he is allowed to run red lights, “to catch up to people like you.”
Worrell then pulled the Hummer behind her vehicle, leading her to suspect he was a law enforcement officer about to pull her over.
She turned north on Airport-Pulling Road followed by Worrell in the Hummer. She made a U-turn at the intersection of Airport-Pulling Road and Davis Boulevard, pulling into a pizzeria parking lot. Worrell proceeded west onto Davis Boulevard.
Deputies spotted Worrell driving the Hummer east on Davis near Airport-Pulling shortly before 9 p.m. Deputies conducted a traffic stop and arrested him.
A search of the Hummer turned up:
- A gold Florida concealed firearms badge
- A loaded .40 caliber Glock with a bullet in the chamber
- Three Glock magazines
- Two pairs of handcuffs and keys
- 100 extra rounds of .40 caliber ammunition
- Multiple 12-gauge shotgun shells
- Two pocket knives
- Flashlight
- A can of pepper spray
Worrell has a Florida concealed weapons permit, reports said.
Guess who he has for a lawyer...
WINK News
Worrell will be represented by John Pierce. Pierce, a Los Angeles attorney, was part of the defense for Kyle Rittenhouse for a short period of time. Rittenhouse is the teen accused of shooting and killing two people during the Kenosha protests after Jacob Blake was shot by officers.
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Worrell’s previous attorney said Worrell attended the Jan. 6 uprising at the request of former President Donald Trump.
However, unlike the social media accounts of others accused of being at the insurrection, Worrell appears to not have any evidence on his social media accounts.
Worrell’s Facebook profile shows a Trump 2020 banner.
The FBI continues to seek the public’s assistance in identifying individuals who participated in unlawful conduct during the Capitol Insurrection.
If you have information about individuals who participated in unlawful actions at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or leave a tip online. You may also submit relevant photos and videos to the FBI here.