- A man who wore a Nazi-themed outfit at the Capitol riot was sentenced to 75 days in jail this week.
- Robert Packer's sentence is longer than most others who pleaded guilty to the same misdemeanor charge.
A notorious Capitol rioter who was photographed wearing a "Camp Auschwitz" sweatshirt on January 6 was sentenced to 75 days in jail this week.
Robert Keith Packer pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor trespassing charge in January after striking a plea deal with the Justice Department last year. He was arrested in January 2021 and initially charged with two counts, including entering and remaining in a restricted building and violent entry and disorderly conduct in a Capitol building.
Photos of Packer in his singular sweatshirt garnered national and online attention in the aftermath of the siege, highlighting the white supremacist and antisemitic views that flourished among some of the more extreme rioters.
In an interview with the FBI, Packer said he was wearing the sweatshirt simply because he "was cold." His sister later backed him up, telling a judge not to "judge a book by its cover."
But NBC News reporter Ryan J. Reilly was first to report earlier this week that photos of Packer at the Capitol on January 6 indicate his appreciation for Nazi-themed garments went beyond the sweatshirt: Under the outerwear that day, Packer wore an "SS" shift, alluding to the Schutzstaffel, a paramilitary group in Germany under Adolf Hitler.
Packer's 75-day sentence, while shorter than several others handed down in relation to the attack, is lengthy in comparison to rioters who pleaded guilty to the same charge.
District Judge Carl Nichols in court on Thursday attributed the steep sentence to Packer's past criminal history and proximity to violence on January 6, according to CNN.
A lawyer for Packer did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
At least 910 people have been arrested in connection with the Capitol riot thus far, and nearly 400 people have pleaded guilty.
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