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The man wearing a “Camp Auschwitz” shirt who was pictured during last week’s deadly pro-Trump riot at the U.S. Capitol, was arrested in Virginia on Wednesday, officials said.
Robert Keith Packer, a 56-year-old Newport News resident, was taken to Western Tidewater Regional Jail by the US Marshals Service at 8:53 a.m., according to inmate files.
The FBI Joint Task Force on Terrorism in Norfolk “arrested Robert Keith Packer of Newport News and Douglas Allen Sweet of Grimstead, Virginia on federal charges relating to their role in the events on the Capitol” last week, said FBI spokeswoman Christina Pullen in a statement.
During an initial appearance, Packer was told he had been charged with two federal offenses: entering or staying in a restricted building and violent entry or disorderly conduct while in the Capitol.
He was not invited to appear before a federal judge in Norfolk, who said Packer would be released without bail. He was ordered to stay out of Washington, DC, for everything except his case.
His next court date has been set for Tuesday afternoon. Packer spoke only of recognizing his name and agreeing to the terms of his release.
A bearded white man wearing a ‘Camp Auschwitz’ long-sleeved sweatshirt was among the most striking images taken during last week’s uprising on the U.S. Capitol, when crowds incited by outgoing President Donald Trump took to storming the building in hopes of overthrowing President-elect Joe Biden. electoral victory.
Auschwitz was one of the most notorious death camps run by the Nazis during the Holocaust and World War II. Packer’s sweatshirt also features the words “Work Brings Freedom”, in apparent homage to the German phrase “Arbeit macht frei” which was on the gates of Auschwitz and other death camps.
Sydney Cohen, a resident of Hampton, Va., Said Packer owned the vacant lot near her home. She said the man pictured in the “Camp Auschwitz” shirt and the photo of the accused in Western Tidewater regional prison files are the same person.
“I think seeing things on TV is one thing you can shake your head and be worried about,” Cohen told NBC News on Wednesday. “But it’s a different feeling to have someone you know personally involved (in the riots).”
Cohen said she shuddered at the thought that Packer possibly had anti-Semitic beliefs.
“He knows my name,” said Cohen, 53. “It’s a mischief I didn’t know and it’s scary.”
It was not immediately clear whether Packer had hired a lawyer.
Polly DeFrank and Pete Williams contributed.
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