Jan. 6 defendant moved from DC jail, then home for cancer treatment, amid squalid conditions report

A federal judge has ordered a defendant in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot transferred from the D.C. Jail amid concerns about his medical conditions and possible retaliation for complaints about treatment and living conditions.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth announced his decision Wednesday to move defendant Christopher Worrell, then release him into home detention to start cancer treatment. The decision follows an unannounced inspection of the jail last month by U.S. marshals, the finding of which Lamberth on Wednesday also announced, according to CNN. 

The inspection findings of mistreatment of detainees reportedly increased the judge's concerns that Worrell — who prosecutors say marched in tactical gear with the extremist group Proud Boys during the riot — could be subject to retaliation for complaining about conditions and a broken finger that might need surgery.  

Lambert called the jail conditions "deplorable" and "beyond belief" in releasing the report.

"This court has zero confidence that the D.C. Jail" will provide the treatment correctly and not retaliate against Worrell, Lamberth also said.

The Marshals Service is moving 400 prisoners out of a section of the D.C. jail after discovering unhealthy conditions such as clogged toilets and water being shut off in cells for several days, CNN also reports. However, most prisoners being held in connection with the riot will remain in the jail because they are in a section that passed inspection. 

Worrell is the first Jan. 6 defendant to be removed from the jail after the inspection. He faces six federal charges, including at least one related to allegedly using pepper spray to assault police officers. Worrell has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges, according to CNN.