COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. — A Collier County man, accused of storming the U.S. Capitol on January 6th as a member of the far-right group the Proud Boys, will stand trial in December.
A federal judge set the December 12th date for the trial to begin for Christopher Worrell.
Worrell is accused of engaging in violence inside the capitol and assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon.
He has pleaded not guilty.
Worrell, who was released on bond back in November, could have been thrown back in jail for alleged violations of his conditions of release, which explicitly said not to speak publicly about the case.
In April, Worrell spoke in front of the Collier County Board of Commissioners where he introduced himself as “political prisoner 377183.”
Worrell also wore a shirt calling himself a P.O.W. or prisoner of war.
“He’s not a POW. He’s a defendant in a pending case,” said U.S. Senior Judge Royce C. Lamberth in a pre-trial hearing.
Lamberth chose not to put Worrell back in jail due to the defendant’s medical conditions.
Worrell, who is a cancer patient, has a jaw surgery scheduled in the near future.
FGCU Law Professor Pamella Seay says Worrell is lucky he’s not back in jail.
“My number one advice is to do what the court instructed you to do. Which is, do not speak to anyone about the case. Keep your mouth shut. Do not speak to anyone because the court can come back and say ‘well, that’s not right what you did, we’re going to throw you back in jail,’” said Seay.
