‘Camp Auschwitz’ man at January 6 insurrection pleads guilty to misdemeanor

Packer, who is from Newport News, faces a maximum six-month sentence and $5,000 fine.

 THE US Capitol building is blanketed with snow, in Washington, January 4. (photo credit: TOM BRENNER/REUTERS)
THE US Capitol building is blanketed with snow, in Washington, January 4.
(photo credit: TOM BRENNER/REUTERS)

WASHINGTON (JTA) — Robert Keith Packer, the Virginia man who drew attention during the January 6 insurrection by wearing a “Camp Auschwitz” sweatshirt, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for trespassing.

Packer, 57, agreed to cooperate with the federal government in its investigations, prosecutors told the US District Court on Wednesday at the plea hearing, the Law & Crime news site reported.

Packer, who is from Newport News, faces a maximum six-month sentence and $5,000 fine, although many of the people who have pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges related to the January 6 insurrection have not received jail time.

People hold candles at a vigil at the National Mall in Washington last Thursday as they mark the first anniversary of the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection that was carried out by supporters of former president Donald Trump. (credit: TOM BRENNER/REUTERS)
People hold candles at a vigil at the National Mall in Washington last Thursday as they mark the first anniversary of the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection that was carried out by supporters of former president Donald Trump. (credit: TOM BRENNER/REUTERS)

Packer’s sweatshirt read “Camp Auschwitz,” along with the message “Work brings freedom” — a rough translation of the message that greeted Jewish prisoners at the infamous Nazi concentration camp. On the back, it read, “Staff.” FBI agents who raided his home found Nazi paraphernalia, CNN reported.