Jan. 6 rioter who wore ‘Camp Auschwitz’ sweatshirt sentenced to 75 days
The Jan. 6 rioter spotted wearing a “Camp Auschwitz” sweatshirt while storming the U.S. Capitol was sentenced to 75 days in prison Thursday.
Virginia man Robert Keith Packer declined to explain his wardrobe choice to Judge Carl Nichols, who handed down the 57-year-old’s sentence via video conference, calling his attire that day “incredibly offensive.”
Packer’s black hoodie was emblazoned with a white skull on its frontside and the word “Staff” on its back. Federal prosecutors said that under his sweatshirt, he wore an “SS” t-shirt, seemingly in reference to Adolf Hitler’s paramilitary forces.
This photo provided by Western Tidewater Regional Jail shows Robert Keith Packer of Newport News, Va. Packer, Jan. 13, 2021.
His defense attorney claimed Packer was upset he was being labeled a white supremacist in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 violence that followed a speech by Donald Trump in which the former president falsely stated the 2020 election was rigged and urged supporters to march to Capitol Hill and “fight.”
Prosecutors said in a May sentencing memorandum that a flippant Packer told them he donned the sweatshirt during the attack on the U.S. Capitol “because I was cold” and complained about how he’s subsequently been harassed.
His attorney told the court Thursday the self-employed pipe-fitter from Newport News, Va., who has more than 20 previous convictions, chose to remain silent Thursday because of how his words might be used on social media.
The defense felt the court was harsh on its client, who was given the jail time prosecutors requested. Packer’s younger sister wrote a letter to the court saying her brother’s sweatshirt “could be considered in poor taste” but wasn’t against the law.
He pleaded guilty on Jan. 26 and remained free while awaiting his sentence.
Man at Capitol today wearing "Camp Auschwitz" sweatshirt. Back reads "Staff" pic.twitter.com/7KRGEIvNme
— Trevor "Trev" McKee Achilles 🇺🇸 🇺🇦 (@MrTAchilles) January 7, 2021
Packer admitted to being in the U.S. Capitol the day Trump loyalists delayed the certification of the 46th president’s win over the 45th president. He told investigator he was standing no more than 12 feet from fellow right-wing activist Ashli Babbitt when she was killed by police defending members of Congress as she tried busting into the Senate chamber through a broken window.
Roughly 900 people have been arrested for their role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, including Pennsylvania woman Riley Williams, who was granted permission this Wednesday to attend a Renaissance Faire in her home state, where an axe-throwing contest is part of the festivities. She, too, has been linked to pro-Nazi propaganda by Dutch reporters at Bellingcat, which unearthed a cache of social media content it says makes its case.
Auschwitz was a concentration camp in occupied Poland, where more than a million people were killed between 1940 and 1945.
With News Wire Services
