Christopher Worrell, a Collier County man being tried on charges related to the January 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol, has been found guilty by directed verdict before U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth in Washington, D.C.
Sentencing will be Aug. 18.
Worrell, 52, of East Naples and an alleged member of the Proud Boys, was accused of attacking police officers with pepper spray gel during the Jan. 6 siege.
Worrell was found guilty Friday following a five-day bench trial by directed verdict from the judge on seven counts including: Obstruction of an Official Proceeding and Aiding and Abetting; Disorderly and Disruptive Conduct in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon; Engaging in Physical Violence in a Restricted Building or Grounds Using a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon; Entering and Remaining in a Restricted Building or Grounds with a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon; Engaging in Physical Violence in a Restricted Building or Grounds Using a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon; Act of Physical Violence in the Capitol Grounds or Buildings; Civil Disorder; and Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers Using a Dangerous Weapon.
There was no ruling on 12 other counts listed for Worrell.
A directed verdict is a ruling entered by a trial judge after determining that there is no legally sufficient evidentiary basis for a reasonable jury to reach a different conclusion.
Worrell's trial began in late April after a number of delays. His personal recognizance bond was continued after the verdict.
A report on the trial by the Washington Post on Friday said that before setting sentencing, Judge Lamberth said his verdict was “not the product of guilt by association.”
“Even focusing on what Mr. Worrell said, did and knew, [his] purpose to impede or obstruct the electoral college certification has been proven to me beyond a reasonable doubt,” the Post quoted Lamberth as saying. “He wanted the mob to take the Capitol. … No one can doubt that he did actually spray that pepper gel,” the judge said.
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