President Donald Trump pardoned about 1,500 people Monday who were charged in connection to the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. That represents almost all of the close to 1,600 people who were charged in the riot by the fourth anniversary,
according to the Justice Department , as reported by USA TODAY Monday. It's unclear whether that includes those arrested and/or convicted for involvement in the attack who have ties to Southwest Florida. Below is an overview of the Southwest Florida defendants arrested, charged or sentenced linked to the Capitol breach, as of
The New-Press and Naples Daily News update that was published Dec. 26.
Christopher Worrell
Christopher Worrell, 53, of East Naples, was
ultimately sentenced to 10 years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth announced the prison sentence, followed by three years of supervised release. Worrell was accused of pepper-spraying law enforcement officers, among other crimes. He was a member of the Proud Boys group. Worrell has self-identified as a member of the "Hurricane Coast Zone 5" chapter the
Proud Boys , which is a neofascist white nationalist extremist organization established in 2016. He was convicted for his part in the Capitol riots on May 12. Prosecutors had asked for a more severe sentence — 14 years — and an increased fine for Worrell, saying he deserves harsher punishment after he fled and then faked a drug overdose as a "delay tactic." A sentencing memorandum indicated Worrell, who had been released while awaiting trial and then sentencing, cut off his monitoring ankle bracelet in a Walmart parking lot on Aug. 14, four days before his sentencing date. Worrell eluded police for about six weeks.
John Herbert Strand
John Herbert Strand, 41,
was sentenced in June 2023 to two years and eight months for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, mob. A jury convicted him Sept. 27, 2022, on five counts — obstruction of an official proceeding and aiding and abetting; remaining in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building and grounds; disorderly conduct in a Capitol building; and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.
Lin Marie Carey
Carey, of Naples, was
arrested in March on felony and misdemeanor charges related to her conduct during the breach of the U.S. Capitol. According to court documents, Carey is charged in a criminal complaint filed in federal court in the District of Columbia with felony obstruction of an official proceeding; a misdemeanor offense of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; a misdemeanor offense of disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; and a misdemeanor offense of disorderly conduct in a Capitol building, parading, picketing, and demonstrating in a Capitol building. The FBI arrested Carey in Naples. Her trial is scheduled to begin April 22.
Zachary Pearlman
The FBI
arrested Zachary Pearlman , 26, of Naples, in October on charges in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with felony offenses of assaulting; resisting; or impeding certain officers and obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder. Pearlman is charged with misdemeanor offenses of entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds; disorderly or disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds; disorderly conduct in a capitol building or grounds; and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building. According to court documents, Pearlman, who was at the opposite end of the room, turned from a conversation he was having with other members of the crowd to watch the officers push rioters in the Rotunda toward a nearby exit. Instead of moving toward an exit or leaving the area, Pearlman walked toward the police line. He worked his way through the crowd, pushing past other rioters until he was at the front of the crowd, facing off with the police.
Naples Daily News and News-Press archives contributed to this report.
