Man in ‘Camp Auschwitz’ sweatshirt during Capitol riot arrested, official says
The rioter who stormed the US Capitol Wednesday wearing a sweatshirt emblazoned with the phrase “Camp Auschwitz”, identified as Robert Keith Packer of Virginia, was arrested Wednesday morning in Virginia, according to a law enforcement official.
An image of Packer inside the Capitol, whose sweatshirt bore the name of the Nazi concentration camp where about 1.1 million people were killed during World War II, has evoked shock and disbelief on social media. The bottom of his shirt stated, “Work brings freedom,” which is the rough translation of the phrase “Arbeit macht frei” that was on the concentration camp’s gates.
Packer has a criminal history including three convictions for driving under the influence and a felony conviction for forging public records, according to Virginia court records. He was charged in 2016 for allegedly trespassing. The case was later dismissed.
Packer was among the mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters who unlawfully broke into the US Capitol building on January 6 as Congress was in the process of counting the Electoral College votes and certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s win.
Wrongly convinced the election was stolen from Trump, the rioters fought with police officers and attacked members of the media, smashed windows, vandalized and ransacked offices, and stole federal property.
This story has been updated with additional background information.
