Jan. 6 Rioter from Greenport Pardoned, Freed from Prison

A Greenport native convicted of violent felonies in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021 U.S. Capitol riots was released from federal prison on Jan. 21 after President Donald Trump pardoned him.

Christopher John Worrell, a 53-year-old Greenport High School graduate, was serving a 10-year prison sentence since being convicted in 2023 of assault, obstruction and civil disorder charges. A reputed member of the nationalist group the Proud Boys, Worrell had absconded before a Florida federal judge eventually handed down the sentence.

Authorities alleged that Worrell had sprayed pepper spray at police officers. He was one of about a dozen people from Long Island who were charged — most of whom were convicted — in the 2021 riots in the U.S. Capitol as Trump supporters tried to stop Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election. 

More than 1,000 people nationwide were charged in the riots that left four dead. Trump pardoned all of the Jan. 6 defendants on the first day of his second term. The federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed Worrell was released from the Federal Correctional Complex, Butner in North Carolina. He could not immediately be reached for comment.

In his pardon, Trump wrote, “This proclamation ends a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years and begins a process of national reconciliation.”