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11Jan21

Capitol Hill Rioter Who Wore 'Camp Auschwitz' Shirt Identified as Virginia 'Extremist'

The Capitol Hill insurgent whose "Camp Auschwitz" sweatshirt became one of the most viewed images of last Wednesday's storming of the US legislature has been identified.

CNN reported that three separate sources had identified the man as Robert Keith Packer, a resident of Virginia.

A person familiar with Packer described the 56-year-old "as a long-time extremist who has had run-ins with the law," according to CNN.

"He's been always extreme and very vocal about his beliefs," the person said.

Another source familiar with Packer described him as an "off-beat" character who had expressed frustrations with the government, though the person did not recall Packer ever talking about President Donald Trump or false allegations of voter fraud.

Virginia court records show that Packer has a criminal history that includes three convictions for driving under the influence and a felony conviction for forging public records. In 2016, he was charged for allegedly trespassing, though that case was dismissed.

Packer was among the hundreds of militant supporters of US President Donald Trump who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, putting legislators under siege while they were certifying President-elect Joe Biden's electoral college victory. His shirt showed the words "Camp Auschwitz" above a skull and bones and the phrase "Work Brings Freedom" -- a crude translation of the Nazi slogan "Arbeit Macht Frei" ("Work Will Make You Free") emblazoned on the gates of Auschwitz, where 1.1 million people, mainly Jews but also including Roma gypsies, Poles, homosexuals, disabled people and Soviet prisoners of war, were exterminated by the Nazis during WWII.

[Source: By Algemeiner Staff, The Algemeiner, NY, 11Jan21]
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