NAPLES, Fla. — A convicted Florida Proud Boy who disappeared just before his sentencing was found at his home on Thursday after a weeks-long search, according to the Naples Daily News.
Christopher Worrell was convicted in May for assaulting officers with pepper spray gel, among other felonies. He faced a possible sentence of up to 14 years in prison before his sudden disappearance in August.
At his trial, a witness said Worrell showed up to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, "prepared" for violence.
The Naples Daily News reported he arrived wearing tactical gear and carrying two cans of pepper spray. After pepper spraying multiple officers, Worrell joined other Proud Boys, a neofascist and white supremacist group, in charging police lines to break into the Capitol and stop a joint session of Congress from counting the Electoral College votes to formalize the presidential victory of President-elect Joe Biden.
For his part, prosecutors said Worrell showed no remorse for his actions at the trial. "Instead, though under oath, he spun falsehood after incredible falsehood in an effort to deflect responsibility and cast himself as a hero intervening to protect the police."
Worrell was initially arrested in March 2021 and placed under house arrest later that year due to concerns that he was not getting proper treatment for his non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
Worrell now faces sentencing for his crimes, which could be extended by his escape. The Department of Justice initially asked for a sentence of 14 years in prison, three years of supervised release, $2,000 in restitution, a fine of up to $181,000, and $610 in mandatory special assessments.
Records show Worrell is in custody at the Collier County Jail.
More than 950 people have been charged for their role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Florida leads the nation in the number of arrests related to the attack by far: 91 rioters, compared to 77 in Texas and 73 in Pennsylvania, earning the state the nickname: "the cradle of the insurrection."