Naples, FL "Proud Boy" goes missing prior to sentencing on Capitol riot charges, now wanted by FBI
Worrell's mugshot courtesy of FBI.
FBI Field Offices in Tampa and Washington D.C.
On August 15, 2023, the FBI issued a federal arrest warrant for 52 year-old Christopher John Worrell of Naples, Florida, for violating conditions of his release after being found guilty of federal charges - pending sentencing - related to the violence at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021. Worrell is a white male with brown hair and eyes, a height of 6'3" and weighs 280 pounds. The arrest warrant was issued for Worrell in the United States District Court, District of Columbia, Washington, D.C.
Worrell, who was was scheduled to go before U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth for sentencing on August 18, 2023, went missing a few days prior to his court apearance. It was anticipated that he would be sentenced to 14 years in prison.
If you have any information concerning Worrell, contact your local FBI office (https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices), the nearest American Embassy or Consulate (https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/international-offices), FBI Field Offices in Tampa (https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/tampa) or Washington D.C.
(https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/washingtondc) or anonymously (https://tips.fbi.gov/home).
According to a press release by the Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Columbia on May 12, 2023, Worrell, a self-identified Proud Boy, was found guilty in the District of Columbia of all felony and misdemeanor charges for his actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach, which disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the presidential election.
Worrell's charges included:
★felony assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon
★feony obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress
★felony obstructing, impeding, or interfering with officers during the commission of a civil disorder
★felony entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon
★felony disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon
★felony engaging in physical violence with a deadly or dangerous weapon
★misdemeanor act of physical violence in the Capitol Grounds or Buildings
The guilty verdict followed a five-day bench trial before U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth. While reading the verdict, Lamberth commented that the defendant’s defense - that he had been pepper spraying other violent rioters instead of U.S. Capitol Police officers - was “preposterous” and that the defendant’s testimony presented an “unbelievable” and “false narrative.”
Evidence at trial showed, that on January 6, 2021, Worrell was a member of the “Hurricane Coast Zone 5” Proud Boys chapter, and in the weeks leading up to January 6, Worrell and other members of the Proud Boys shared their animosity toward the police in an encrypted chat application. On the morning of January 6, Worrell, dressed in a tactical vest and carrying two canisters of pepper gel, marched with other Proud Boys from the Washington Monument to the United States Capitol. He passed U.S. Capitol Police officers and warned them not to resist, saying “honor your oaths, on your knees,” and “don’t make us go against you.” Worrell and other “Zone 5” members breached the restricted perimeter and reached the West Plaza of the Capitol by approximately 1:00 p.m. He then filmed himself calling the U.S. Capitol Police officers “scum,” “piece[s] of “sh**,” and “commies,” among other expletives and insults.
At approximately 1:31 p.m., Worrell stepped forward and sprayed pepper gel at a line of police officers trying to defend the Capitol from the mob on the West Plaza. Worrell later bragged that he had “deployed a whole can” and was “f****** handing it to them.” A photojournalist present at the Capitol witnessed Worrell spraying toward the officers, and took a photograph that captured the moment.
Approximately 20 minutes later, Worrell’s fellow Zone 5 Proud Boy member and co-defendant Daniel Scott shoved two USCP officers who were defending a staircase leading to the Upper West Terrace of the Capitol. Mr. Scott’s assaults collapsed the police line, allowing a large group of rioters to make their way up the stairs to the Capitol building, where they became the first group of rioters to break into the building itself. Worrell and other members of Zone 5 celebrated Scott’s assault, with Worrell turning the camera on himself to say: “Yeah! Taking the Capitol!”
Worrell was arrested on March 12, 2021, in Naples, Florida.
For the charges he was convicted of, Worrell faces up to 20 years in prison for each felony count, plus potential financial penalties.
The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, with assistance by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Tampa Field Office-Fort Myers Resident Agency and the Sarasota Resident Agency and the Washington Field Office, with assistance provided by the U.S. Capitol Police and the Metropolitan Police Department.
As of May 12, 2023, more than 1,000 individuals had been arrested, in nearly all 50 states, for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, which includes more than 320 people charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement. The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with tips can call 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or visit tips.fbi.gov.