The man who stormed the Capitol wearing a “Camp Auschwitz” sweatshirt has been arrested.
Robert Keith Packer of Virginia was taken into custody on Wednesday morning, according to CNN. A week earlier, he was identified as being among a group of Trump supporters who breached the Capitol as Congress counted electoral votes and certified President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.
He faces initial charges of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds, as well as knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building, according to 11Alive’s Brendan Keefe. Packer is expected to make a court appearance in Norfolk at noon.
Packer was photographed wearing a “Camp Auschwitz” shirt, which was emblazoned with a skull and the phrase “Work Brings Freedom,” a rough translation of “Arbeit macht frei.” The German phrase was inscribed on the iron arch that stood at the gates of Auschwitz, a concentration camp where more than 1.1 million people were killed during the Holocaust.
One Virginia resident described Packer to CNN as an extremist who was “very vocal about his beliefs,” while another called him “offbeat” and said he was frustrated with the government. However, the source could not recall any comments about President Trump or alleged voter fraud.
Camp Auschwitz dude: booking photo pic.twitter.com/Csk9ozjNnG
— Drew Griffin (@DrewGriffinCNN) January 13, 2021
The Justice Department has opened more than 170 case files so far related to the storming of the Capitol, and that figure is expected to “geometrically increase,” acting U.S. Attorney Michael Sherwin said on Tuesday, emphasizing that “this is only the beginning.” The Justice Department has already charged over 70 specific criminal cases, he added.
Federal prosecutors have announced new charges for several people recently, including a man photographed in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office, a man from Alabama who was allegedly found with guns and Molotov cocktails in his truck, and a delegate in the West Virginia Legislature who has since resigned.
Packer was not the only rioter to wear anti-Semitic clothing. Other participants were wearing “6MWE” shirts, which is an acronym on the far-right standing for “6 Million Wasn’t Enough,” a reference to the number of Jewish people who were killed in the Holocaust.
