Proud Boys member who disappeared after Jan. 6 conviction sentenced to 10 years in prison

A member of the Proud Boys who disappeared after being convicted for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison. 

Christopher Worrell, 52, was convicted last year of seven counts related to his conduct during the riot, including assaulting Capitol Police officers with pepper spray and lying to investigators.

In August, just days before he was originally scheduled to be sentenced, Worrell cut off his ankle monitor and fled his residence, triggering an FBI manhunt. He attempted to “covertly return” to his home after six weeks on the run. 

FBI agents found Worrell unconscious on his kitchen floor with an opened bottle of “opioid prescription medication” in his hand. He was transported to a hospital for further treatment, according to his arrest report, obtained by The Hill. 

But Justice Department prosecutors said in subsequent court filings that Worrell had “faked a drug overdose” in an attempt to delay his sentencing. They pointed to emails between Worrell and a concerned friend, in which Worrell said the purported overdose was a “stupid delay tactic,” not a suicide attempt.  

Prosecutors called the manhunt and alleged stunt an “enormous waste of government resources,” requesting a harsh sentence for the runaway rioter. They originally sought a 14-year prison sentence for Worrell, whom they said plotted with other Proud Boys to disrupt the certification of the 2020 presidential election.

“He apparently had no intention of ever turning himself in,” the government wrote in its sentencing memorandum.

When Worrell was arrested again in September, night vision goggles, $4,000 in cash and survivalist gear were found in his home, the Tampa field office said in a statement at the time. He had been on house arrest since November 2021.

Dozens of rioters linked to the right-wing extremist Proud Boys have been charged over their role in storming the Capitol nearly three years ago. 

Enrique Tarrio, the group’s former national chairman, and three other Proud Boys leaders were convicted of seditious conspiracy in May for plotting to stop the vote certification so then-President Trump could remain in power. 

Tarrio was sentenced to 22 years in prison, the longest sentence handed down in connection with the insurrection.